UGANDA- BY- PEN 
AND^CAMERA^s 

BY  CW-HATTERSLEY j  WITH  A 
PREFACEBY'  T-FVICTORBUXTON 


^  ]M  -  \&<\  LLllSTRAfltM-S 


Cibrarp  of  <the  theological  ^emmarp 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Del a van  L«  Pier son 


DAUDI  CWA,   KING  OF  UGANDA. 

(Photographed  at  the  age  of  six.) 


1  UGANDA.] 


t  ;'-   .'-*--  C  SEP;, '1951  s' 

UGANDA  BY  PEN 
AND  CAMERA 


y  by 

C.  W.  HATTERSLEY 


WITH  A  PREFACE  BY 

T.  F.  VICTOR  BUXTON 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  UNION  PRESS 
1816  Chestnut  Street 
1907 


PRINTED   IN  ENGLAND 


PREFACE 


BY  T.  F.  V.  BUXTON 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  past 
history  of  Uganda,  from  the  time 
of  Stanley's  visit  in  1875  and  onwards. 
Thirty  years  is  a  short  period  in  the  history 
of  a  people  ;  but  in  this  case  the  period 
has  been  so  full  of  kaleidoscopic  changes, 
and  has  been  marked  by  so  many  critical 
events,  that  its  history  reads  like  a  romance. 
The  rapidity  with  which  these  changes  have 
taken  place  result  in  this,  that  the  best 
descriptions  of  the  country,  written  even 
a  few  years  since,  are  quite  inapplicable 
to  the  present  time  ;  and  thus  there  is  ample 
room  for  such  an  account  as  Mr.  Charles 
Hattersley  gives  in  the  present  book. 


i 

VI 


PREFACE 


Uganda  is  a  country  which  has  called 
forth  an  extraordinary  amount  of  interest 
and  sympathy  here  at  home,  and  there  are 
numbers  who  will  welcome  this  latest  picture 
of  its  people.  Among  them  I  hope  there 
may  be  many  young  men  whose  thoughts 
are  turning  to  the  missionary  life,  and  who 
wish  to  study  a  field  in  which,  under  God's 
providence,  their  future  work  may  lie.  The 
picture  given  here  is  graphic  and  attractive, 
and  I  can  bear  witness  that  it  is  also  faith- 
ful and  true  to  life.  I  had  the  privilege  the 
year  before  last  of  paying  a  visit  to  Uganda  ; 
and  it  is  pleasant,  in  turning  over  the  pages 
of  Mr.  Hattersley's  chapters,  to  have  in- 
numerable incidents  of  the  journey  and 
details  of  native  life  recalled  by  his  descrip- 
tions, and  by  the  excellent  photographs  with 
which  they  are  illustrated. 

Peace  and  security  now  reign  in  Uganda, 
and  the  English  resident  suffers  from  none 
of  the   anxiety  as   to   personal   safety  to 


PREFACE 


vii 


which  he  and  his  predecessors  were  exposed 
a  few  short  years  ago.  But  the  missionary- 
to-day,  as  Mr.  Hattersley  indicates,  has  to 
face  other  difficulties  which  are  no  less 
anxious  to  one  whose  whole  heart  is  in 
the  work.  British  administration  has  broken 
down  the  old  restraints,  and  individual 
freedom  of  action  prevails  as  never  before. 
At  the  same  time  there  is  an  in-rush  ot 
new  influences  from  Europe  and  from  India, 
which  are  often  in  direct  antagonism  to 
those  of  the  missionary.  The  Christian 
Church  is  thus  passing  through  a  time  of 
sifting  and  trial,  and  there  seems  a  special 
call  now  for  unwavering  faith  in  the  power 
of  prayer  and  in  the  assured  triumph  of 
the  Grace  of  God. 

To  meet  the  new  circumstances,  it  is 
obvious  that  one  of  the  most  important 
objects  to  be  kept  in  view  must  be  the 
imparting  of  sound  education.  Elementary 
schools  have  already  done  a  noble  work, 


viii 


PREFACE 


and  the  Baganda  have  proved  apt  and  eager 
pupils  ;  but  among  many  of  them  the  demand 
has  now  arisen  for  something  more  than 
the  three  R's  and  simple  Bible-teaching. 
The  whole  system  of  education  in  Mengo, 
and  throughout  the  country,  is  being  revised 
and  extended,  and  the  ability  which  Mr. 
Hattersley  has  already  shown  in  this  branch 
of  missionary  work  points  him  out  as  one 
who  must  take  a  prominent  part  in  the 
improvements  now  under  consideration. 

We  were  impressed  by  the  signs  of  vigour 
and  efficiency  evident  in  the  conduct  of 
the  large  boys'  school  under  his  charge, 
and  were  greatly  interested  in  a  project 
for  which  he  was  preparing  at  the  time 
of  our  visit  to  Mengo.  Mr.  Hattersley 
was  then  busy  over  the  erection  of  a  group 
of  small  boarding-houses  for  the  sons  of 
chiefs  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  for 
whom  better  education  was  desirable  than 
could  be  obtained  in  their  village  schools. 


PREFACE 


ix 


One  ot  these  houses  had  been  provided 
by  the  Administration  to  accommodate  young 
chiefs  from  Busoga,  for  whom  it  was  con- 
sidered important  that  they  should  be  re- 
moved for  a  time  from  undesirable  home 
influences,  and  trained  in  a  way  more  likely 
to  qualify  them  for  taking  their  part  worthily 
in  the  government  of  their  country.  The 
work  of  these  boarding-houses  is  now  in 
full  swing,  and  they  must  form  a  very 
valuable  adjunct  to  the  day  school.  We 
shall  not  soon  forget  our  visit  to  this  latter 
institution.  The  large  grass-thatched  build- 
ing was  well  filled,  and  all  the  boys  seemed 
to  be  working  keenly  at  their  lessons,  while 
the  teachers  were  throwing  themselves 
heartily  into  the  work  of  imparting  know- 
ledge. The  most  interesting  class  was 
a  gathering  of  senior  boys,  many  of  them 
practically  grown  up,  who  were  receiving 
systematic  Bible-teaching  from  Mr.  Hattersley 
himself. 


X 


PREFACE 


It  is  pleasant  to  notice  how  all  the  teaching 
in  Mengo  clusters  round  the  great  cathedral, 
recently  built  by  the  Baganda  under  Mr. 
Borup's  able  superintendence.  This  cathe- 
dral stands  on  one  of  the  twin  tops  of 
Namirembe,  the  highest  among  a  group  of 
hills  over  which  the  capital  is  scattered. 
The  three  tall  peaks  by  which  its  roof  is 
surmounted  form  a  striking  feature  in  the 
view  from  any  of  the  surrounding  hills,  and 
the  cathedral  itself  is  set  off  by  the  lower 
buildings  which  lie  about  it,  though  separated 
by  an  ample  space  of  level  ground.  The 
boys'  and  girls'  schools  lie  beyond  the  east 
end,  while  on  one  side  is  the  building  filled 
daily  with  numbers  of  candidates  preparing 
for  baptism  or  confirmation,  and  on  the 
other  side  are  carried  on  the  classes  for 
training  teachers,  male  and  female. 

Of  these,  the  young  men  are  under  Mr. 
Roscoe's  charge — and  a  heavy  charge  it  is, 
considering   the   numbers    to    be  trained. 


PREFACE 


xi 


When  we  visited  him  at  his  work,  we  found 
the  room  well  filled  with  about  a  hundred 
teachers  in  training,  who  were  writing  out 
answers  to  Bible  questions.  To  maintain 
order  among  so  large  a  number,  who  have 
known  practically  nothing  of  discipline  before 
they  joined  the  classes,  is  in  itself  no  light 
task ;  but  the  fact  that  all  are  voluntary 
learners  makes  the  work  easier  than  it 
otherwise  would  be.  The  missionary  has, 
of  course,  many  anxieties  regarding  the 
spiritual  tone  of  those  who  offer  themselves 
as  Christian  workers  ;  but  some  test  of  their 
sincerity  and  zeal  is  provided  by  the  fact 
that  the  majority  come  from  a  distance,  and 
find  considerable  difficulty  in  providing  for 
themselves  during  their  stay  at  the  capital. 
Many  have,  in  fact,  to  endure  real  hardness, 
and  often  go  short  of  food,  in  their  anxiety 
to  learn  and  to  qualify  themselves  for  pastoral 
and  missionary  labour. 

The   avidity  for  learning   evidenced  by 


xii 


PREFACE 


these  intending  teachers,  and  among  the 
rapidly-growing  classes  of  Baganda  who  can 
read  and  write,  shows  the  immense  import- 
ance of  providing  wholesome  literature  in 
the  Luganda  language.  Hitherto  the  Bible 
has  been  practically  the  only  book,  and  we 
may  be  deeply  thankful  that  the  Word  of 
God  has  had  the  first  place,  and  has  had 
time  to  influence  the  Baganda  so  deeply 
before  other  books  were  translated.  Now, 
however,  the  demand  is  extending,  and  must 
be  supplied.  The  work  of  the  Bible  Society 
will,  we  hope  and  expect,  not  diminish,  but 
go  on  steadily  increasing  ;  but  its  sister 
societies,  the  Religious  Tract  Society  and 
the  S.P.C.K.,  are  needed  to  supplement  its 
work  without  delay.  The  R.T.S.  has  already 
made  several  grants  for  Uganda,  either  free 
or  at  reduced  rates.  These  have  consisted 
chiefly  of  English  books  to  help  the  mission- 
aries in  teaching ;  but  now  the  great  need 
is  for  vernacular  literature,  and  a  vast  field 


PREFACE 


xiii 


of  usefulness  lies  before  the  R.T.S.  in  the 
future.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  committee 
and  friends  of  that  society  may  realise  how 
critical  is  the  present  opportunity,  and  may 
supply  the  Baganda  with  an  abundance  of 
wholesome  books  before  the  flood  of  evil 
literature,  which  follows  our  so-called  civilisa- 
tion, begins  to  percolate  into  the  country. 

Having  dwelt  thus  upon  the  importance 
of  education  and  of  literature,  I  cannot  do 
better  than  conclude  by  endorsing  with  all 
my  heart  the  remarks  Mr.  Hattersley  makes 
on  pages  34  and  35  of  this  book.  He 
has  been  reminding  us  that  the  European 
in  Uganda  needs  to  be  an  all-round  man, 
capable  of  turning  his  hand  to  a  great  variety 
of  work,  and  he  reminds  us  here  that,  in 
house  building  and  other  manual  labour,  the 
missionary  has  opportunities  of  commending 
the  Gospel  to  many  who  cannot  be  reached 
in  the  class-room.  It  is  true  in  Uganda,  as 
elsewhere,  that  the  life  tells  more  than  words, 


XIV 


PREFACE 


and  it  is  important  that  all  who  go  out  to 
that  country  should  realise  the  immense 
responsibility  resting  upon  them.  Every 
action  will  be  watched,  every  word  will  be 
noted,  and  Christianity  will  be  judged  by 
its  influence  in  the  little  things  of  daily  life. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PREFACE.     BY  T.  F.  VICTOR  BUXTON    .  .  V 

CHAP. 

I.   HOW  TO  GET  THERE     ....  I 

II.   THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE         .  .  19 

III.  THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  .    4 1 

IV.  THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  .  60 
V.   AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  .        .        .  .73 

VI.   TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA      .        .  .88 

VII.   CHURCHES  AND  TEACHERS   .        .  .  103 

VIII.  SOME  RESULTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  .III 

IX.   UGANDA  ONCE  MORE     .        .        .  .122 
xv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


DAUDI    CWA,    KING    OF    UGANDA  (PHOTOGRAPHED 

at  the  age  of  six)  Frontispiece 

Facing  page 

MOMBASA    TERMINUS  :    OFF    THE    LINE  !    TOWN  OF 

MOMBASA  I 

KING'S  ROAD,  FROM  MENGO  TO  NAMIREMBE       .  .        1 5 

YUNIA,  DAUDl'S  COUSIN,  THE  QUEEN-SISTER  .  .  26 

HOUSE-BUILDING  BY  MISSIONARIES  AND  NATIVES  : 

(i)  BUILDING  ;  (2)  CARPENTERING  ;  (3)  THATCHING  33 

THE  TOMB   OF   KING   KAMANYA,   GRANDFATHER  OF 

MTESA  45 

LUBARE  INSTRUMENTS  MAGIC  WANDS,  HORNS,  AND 

DRUMS  50 

TWO  QUEENS  OF  KING  SUNA  AND  ATTENDANTS  .  .  54 

WOMAN  CARRYING  A  HUGE  LOG  OF  FIREWOOD   .  .57 

CHIEF  MUKUBNKWATA  AND  HIS  SON  :  THE  REV. 
HENRY  WRIGHT  DUTA,  WITH  HIS  WIFE  AND 
FAMILY  60 

xvii  2 


xviii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  page 


CONGREGATION     LEAVING      MENGO      CATHEDRAL  : 

COUNTING  THE  COLLECTION  ....  66 

THE   MENGO   INFANTS*   CLASS — LEARNING  TO  READ 

THE   ALPHABET    .......  73 

THE    SENIOR    BIBLE    CLASS    IN    THE    MENGO  BOYS' 

SCHOOL  76 

A  GROUP  OF  SCHOLARS  IN  THE  MENGO  BOYS*  SCHOOL  84 
SOME  NOTABLE  PUPILS  :  A  BOY  TEACHING  AN  OLD 

MAN  OF  SIXTY  TO  READ  86 

THE  READING-ROOM  OF  THE  VILLAGE  CHURCH  :  A 

COUNTRY  CHURCH,  NAKANYUNYI  .  .  .  IO3 

THE  INTERIOR  OF  MITIANA  CHURCH  ....  IO4 

LUGUMBA,  THE  CHIEF  WHO  RELINQUISHED  HIS  POSI- 
TION TO  BECOME  A  TEACHER  ....  106 

CHRISTIAN  BOYS  AND  YOUNG  WOMEN  IN  UGANDA  .  Ill 

BARK-CLOTH  :  STRIPPING  OFF  THE  BARK  :  BEATING 

IT    OUT  113 

A  CHRISTIAN  WEDDING  GROUP        .         .         .  I  1 5 

THE  REV.  AND  MRS.  Z.  KIZITO  A  CHRISTIAN  CHIEF 

AND    HIS    WIFE  Il6 

THE   REV.   BARTOLOMAYO  MUSOKE  WITH  HIS  WIFE 

AND  FAMILY  120 

MARKET  SCENE  AT  NAMIREMBE,  MENGO  .  .  .126 


I.   TOWN   OK  MOMBASA.  2.   MOMBASA  TERMINUS, 

3.   OFF  THE  LINE. 


UGANDA  BY  PEN 
AND  CAMERA 


CHAPTER  I 
HOW  TO  GET  THERE 

The  journey  to  Uganda  is  nowadays  not 
the  tedious  business  it  was  up  to  the 
year  1902.  It  is  no  longer  necessary  to 
do  it  on  foot.  The  whole  journey  can  be 
accomplished  in  twenty-six  days,  from 
London  to  Mengo.  Crossing  from  Dover  to 
Calais,  passing  by  train  through  Paris  and 
Lyons  to  Marseilles,  and  thence  through 
the  Mediterranean,  Suez  Canal,  and  the 
Red  Sea,  we  round  Cape  Guardafui,  and  go 

1 


2   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


down  the  East  African  Coast  as  far  as 
Mombasa. 

The  sea-passage  usually  occupies  twenty- 
one  days.  It  is  possible  to  go  by  a  P.  &  O. 
steamer  as  far  as  Aden,  and  there  change 
into  a  British  India  Steam  Navigation  Co.'s 
boat  ;  but  most  people  prefer  the  French  or 
German  liners,  which  entail  no  change  at 
Aden.  Foreign  boats  are  subsidised  by 
their  respective  Governments,  and  give 
much  better  terms  than  the  English  boats. 
Although  the  distance,  as  the  crow  flies, 
is  not  more  than  5,000  miles,  the  circuitous 
route  makes  us  travel  over  8,000  miles 
before  reaching  Uganda.  From  Mombasa 
to  Mengo  by  land,  as  measured  by  cyclo- 
meter, is  711  miles;  but  the  present-day 
route  is  584  miles  by  rail  to  the  Lake 
Victoria,  and  175  miles  across  the  lake  from 
Ugowe  Bay,  or  Kisumu,  to  Entebe,  and 
from  Entebe  to  Mengo  18  miles  by  road. 
The  journey  has  been  so  often  described 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE  3 


that  I  do  not  intend  to  devote  much  time 
to  that.  It  must  suffice  to  show  a  picture 
of  Mombasa,  which  strikes  one  on  landing 
as  being  remarkably  pretty.  The  white 
houses  of  the  Government  officers,  and 
traders,  contrasting  with  the  vivid  green  of 
the  foliage,  and  the  blue  sky  and  sea,  all 
combine  to  produce  a  very  pleasing  effect, 
as  the  sun  is  shining  brightly  almost  every 
day  in  the  year. 

Mombasa  has  been  much  improved  during 
the  last  few  years.  Much  better  accommo- 
dation has  been  provided,  which  is,  however, 
not  necessary  for  missionaries,  who  do  not 
use  the  hotels ;  warm-hearted  brethren 
usually  meet  the  new  arrivals,  and  extend 
kind  hospitality  during  their  limited  stay 
there. 

We  make  our  way  to  the  railway  station 
and  take  our  tickets  for  Uganda,  but  the 
train  service  is  somewhat  restricted.  For 
half  the  distance,  little  over  300  miles,  to 


4   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

Nairobi,  there  are  as  many  as  three  trains 
a  week,  but  beyond  that  point  to  the 
lake  one  or  two  passenger  trains  a  week 
are  considered  ample  for  the  small  number 
of  passengers.  At  the  time  of  writing  this, 
the  upper  part  of  the  line  is  not  yet 
permanent,  and  the  heavy  rains  are  con- 
stantly washing  away  parts  of  embankments, 
and  the  line  being  only  single  often  causes 
much  delay.  Our  illustration  represents 
one  such  delay,  where  it  took  two  hours 
to  go  200  yards,  the  train  coming  off  the 
line  five  times. 

Where  one  is  not  anxious  to  catch  a 
steamer  (we  were,  in  this  particular  case), 
such  delays  are  rather  more  amusing  than 
distressing,  for  it  is  possible  and  allowable 
to  get  out  of  the  train  and  take  a  walk 
or  take  snapshots  ;  but  it  is  not  advisable 
to  walk  too  far  ahead  of  the  train,  as  there 
is  positively  no  guarantee  that  it  will  catch 
you  up  that  day,  and  you  may  find  yourself 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE  5 

stranded  in  the  wilderness.  Such  a  delay 
is  rapidly  becoming  a  thing  of  the  past, 
and,  as  a  rule,  the  train  makes  a  very 
good  journey.  The  train  ride  is  full  of 
interest  to  the  traveller.  The  types  of 
various  nations  seen  at  the  stations  and 
along  the  route,  and  the  numerous  herds 
of  wild  animals,  prove  a  source  of  wonder 
and  amusement,  though  there  are  great 
tracts  of  country  in  which  no  sign  of  life 
at  all  can  be  seen.  On  our  arrival  at 
Ugowe  Bay,  in  all  probability,  a  steamer 
will  be  found  waiting.  There  are  other 
names  applied  to  this  bay.  One  is  Port 
Florence,  another  is  Kisumu,  but  they  all 
refer  to  the  same  place,  which  is  a  large 
bay  forty-five  miles  long  in  Kavirondo. 

It  is  here  we  get  our  first  glimpse  of 
the  great  Victoria  Lake,  or  Nyanza,  as  the 
natives  call  a  lake.  It  is  well  known  by 
now  that  the  lake  is  sufficiently  big  to  put 
into   it   the   whole   of  Ireland.  Roughly 


6   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


speaking  it  is  1,000  miles  in  circumference, 
with  an  area  of  40,000  square  miles.  It 
is  fresh  water,  and  subject  to  very  severe 
storms  indeed.  There  is,  of  course,  no  tide, 
but  the  lake  is  subject  to  rises  and  falls 
of  as  much  as  ten  feet,  probably  due  to 
rainfall ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  understand 
some  of  the  high-water  marks  on  the  rocks 
in  various  parts.  Some  people  have  thought 
that  these  rises  take  place  in  a  sort  of 
cycle  of  years.  The  middle  of  the  lake 
has  only  lately  been  explored. 

All  round  near  the  shores  are  islands 
of  various  sizes,  mostly  inhabited  and  very 
fertile,  the  scenery  for  the  most  part  being 
tropical.  The  lake  abounds  in  fish,  many 
very  large  and  very  good  eating,  and  the 
natives,  although  catching  a  great  deal  near 
the  shores,  rarely  venture  on  deep-sea  fishing. 
They  fish  both  with  line  and  traps.  There 
are  many  hippopotami  and  crocodiles.  The 
hippopotamus  is  not  dangerous  to  life  if  left 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE  7 


alone,  though  sometimes  attacking  canoes 
with  very  disastrous  results.  It  appears  to 
be  not  generally  known  that  crocodiles 
perpetuate  the  species  by  laying  eggs,  about 
the  size  of  an  ordinary  duck's  egg,  with 
very  tough  shells.  These  are  laid  in  holes 
scraped  in  the  sand,  and  hatched  by  the  heat 
of  the  sun.  A  crocodile  will  lay  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty  in  one  batch. 
Fortunately  few  of  these  arrive  at  maturity,  as 
there  are  numerous  birds,  fish,  and  crocodiles 
awaiting  the  young  when  they  emerge  from 
the  shells,  but  one  can  rarely  go  on  the 
lake  for  even  a  very  short  distance  without 
seeing  crocodiles,  and  it  is  very  inadvisable 
to  bathe  in  shallow  waters. 

The  natives  on  these  islands  are  very 
clever  at  making  canoes.  People  have  an 
idea  that  because  they  are  only  sewn 
together  these  canoes  do  not  last  long.  It 
merely  means  that  they  require  re-sewing,  for 
they  are  only  sewn  together  with  the  fibre 


8  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

of  a  palm-tree.  The  boards  will  last  as  long 
as  twenty  years.  The  boats  cannot  really 
sink  even  if  full  of  water.  They  would 
if  the  crew  stayed  in,  but  at  the  first  sign 
of  swamping  the  crew  jump  out  into  the 
water,  and  cling  to  the  edge  of  the  canoe 
until  the  storm  abates.  Then,  one  by  one, 
the  men  carefully  get  in,  each  baling  out 
in  turn  a  little  water,  and  then  on  they 
go.  The  natives  would  not  travel  in  a 
canoe  which  did  not  leak,  as  they  consider 
it  would  not  go  well  without  water  in  the 
bottom  to  balance  it,  and  one  man's  business 
is  always  to  be  baling  out. 

For  European  travellers  and  chiefs  a 
bridge  of  twigs,  covered  with  grass,  is 
spread  over  the  water  in  the  bottom  of 
the  canoe,  and  travelling  can  be  made  fairly 
comfortable  by  means  of  bales  of  bedding 
and  other  packages  as  back-rests.  The 
paddlers  face  the  way  they  are  going,  and 
keep  up  a  dismal  chant  most  of  the  time, 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE  9 


which  encourages  them  to  paddle  more  or 
less  in  time.  Crossing  the  lake  from 
Ugowe  Bay  to  Entebe  by  steamer  occupies 
the  greater  part  of  two  days,  one  night 
being  spent  at  anchor,  as  the  narrow 
passages  between  some  of  these  islands 
are  very  dangerous  to  traverse  at  night. 
Two  new  railway  steamers  were  launched 
in  1903,  and  travelling  is  now  fairly  com- 
fortable. The  line  of  the  equator  is  crossed 
en  route,  so  it  goes  without  saying  that  in 
Uganda  there  is  always  twelve  hours'  sun- 
light and  eleven  hours'  darkness,  with  two 
half  hours  of  what  may  be  called  twilight 
dividing  the  two.  In  March  and  September 
there  is  absolutely  no  shadow  at  noon,  the 
sun  being  immediately  overhead. 

There  are  no  seasons  in  Uganda,  roughly 
speaking.  It  is  always  hot,  and  it  has 
been  said  that  the  heat  penetrates  into  the 
ground  six  feet  all  the  year  round,  as 
against  one  foot  in  England,  in  July  and 


io  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


August.  There  are  what  are  called  rainy 
seasons,  commencing  about  March  and 
September,  but  they  are  very  uncertain, 
and,  even  in  the  rainy  seasons,  rain  rarely 
falls  continuously  for  more  than  a  few  hours. 
Rain  is  plentiful  most  of  the  year,  June 
and  December  being  the  only  really  dry 
months.  Hailstorms  are  frequent,  and  some- 
times severe.  Some  thirty  years  ago,  the 
natives  say,  there  was  a  terrible  storm  of 
hail,  and  the  hailstones  remained  on  the 
ground  for  three  days.  Numbers  of  people 
were  killed,  and  numerous  others  died 
from  cold.  Many  huts  were  knocked  down 
by  the  force  of  the  stones,  and  most  of 
the  plantations  very  severely  damaged. 
Thunder-storms  are  frequent,  and  often  terrific, 
houses  being  constantly  struck  by  lightning 
and  destroyed. 

It  does  not  seem  as  though  Uganda 
proper  is  a  country  for  settlers,  but  probably 
the  heat  is  not  the  greatest  barrier  to  this. 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE 


The  elevation  is  high,  over  4,400  feet  above 
sea-level,  and  probably  the  rarity  of  the 
atmosphere  has  something  to  do  with  the 
feeling  of  depression  which  one  constantly 
experiences  after  four  years'  residence  in 
the  country  without  a  furlough.  When  the 
atmosphere  is  so  rare,  the  lungs  cannot 
perform  their  full  amount  of  work,  and  the 
liver  is  called  on  to  help,  with  the  result 
that  it  cannot  discharge  its  own  functions 
properly,  and  indigestion  and  dyspepsia  are 
the  result. 

Malaria  is  a  great  enemy  and  source  of 
danger  to  life,  the  natives  suffering  a  great 
deal  from  it,  much  more  so  in  proportion 
than  Europeans.  No  doubt  it  is  passed  on 
from  natives  to  Europeans  by  mosquitoes. 
Professor  Ross,  of  the  Liverpool  School  of 
Medicine,  is  of  opinion  that  malaria  is  con- 
veyed almost  entirely  by  mosquitoes  ;  and 
that — if  it  is  possible  for  Europeans  to  live 
entirely  apart  from  natives,  keeping  them  at  a 


i2   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


distance  of  fifty  yards,  and  avoiding  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  stagnant  pools  and  open  cisterns 
of  every  description — it  is  quite  possible  to 
live  in  these  tropical  climates  without  the 
least  fear  of  malarial  fever.  We  believe  that 
it  will  be  found  that  a  great  source  of  danger 
is  the  planting  of  bananas  and  Indian  corn 
near  to  the  dwelling,  as  mosquitoes  un- 
doubtedly breed  in  such  plants,  which  hold 
a  great  deal  of  moisture.  The  worst  form 
of  malaria,  usually  called  black-water  fever,  is 
apparently  conveyed  only  by  the  mosquitoes 
called  Culexanopheles,  and  only  the  female 
can  convey  it.  She  makes  a  feed  of  blood 
during  the  breeding-season  from  a  native  or 
other  person  infected  with  malaria,  and  then 
injects  the  parasites  into  some  other  victim 
from  whom  she  makes  a  second  meal. 

These  are  not  the  only  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  colonisation.  Insect  enemies  to  plant 
life  and  cultivation  of  cereals  are  very 
numerous.    Many  experiments  have  ended 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE  13 

disastrously,  but  the  British  Administration 
is  making  every  effort  to  find  out  what  pro- 
ductions can  most  suitably  be  grown.  It 
seems  at  present  as  though  the  country  called 
East  Africa,  that  is,  east  of  the  lake,  is  most 
suitable  for  colonisation  by  Europeans,  both 
from  a  health  point  of  view,  and  that  of  re- 
muneration for  their  labours  as  planters, 
though  on  the  highlands  of  the  Mau  escarp- 
ment, 7,000  feet,  we  have  heard  of  cases  of 
mountain  sickness. 

The  disease  called  sleeping  sickness,  which 
has  of  late  wrought  such  havoc  amongst  the 
natives,  is  of  a  most  distressing  character. 
It  has  been  found  that  a  parasite  carried  by 
a  species  of  tsetse  fly  which  attacks  human 
beings  is  responsible  for  the  disease.  The 
parasite  was  first  found  in  the  fluid  sur- 
rounding the  spinal  cord,  hence  the  brain 
is  the  first  vital  organ  attacked. 

Let  us  now  take  a  look  at  Entebe.  From 
the    steamer   the   place   presents    a  very 


i4   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


charming  appearance,  with  its  wealth  of 
foliage  extending  well  to  the  water-edge,  its 
forest  scenery,  and  the  varied  collection  of 
dwellings.  Entebe  is  a  long  isthmus,  and  is 
peopled  chiefly  by  Europeans  connected  with 
the  Government,  traders,  Indians,  and 
Goanese.  European  traders  have  not,  so 
far,  been  a  great  success  in  Uganda,  and 
trade  is,  at  present,  mostly  in  the  hands  of 
an  enterprising  Indian  or  two.  From  the 
shore  the  view  of  the  lake  is  equally  pretty, 
and  one  only  regrets  that  it  is  not  possible 
to  show  these  in  their  natural  colours. 

I  need  not  describe  in  detail  the  Govern- 
ment of  Uganda.  It  will  suffice  to  say  that 
at  Entebe  resides  the  representative  of  his 
Majesty's  Government.  There  are  also  a 
number  of  sub-commissioners  in  charge  of 
districts,  and  a  small  army  of  clerks,  ac- 
countants, store-keepers,  and  mechanics, 
numbering  in  all  over  one  hundred,  in 
Uganda  proper. 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE  15 


Uganda  is  a  Protectorate,  not  a  colony, 
and  has  its  own  native  parliament,  which 
makes  all  laws,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Commissioner. 

Let  us  pass  on,  now,  to  Mengo.  We  can 
go  by  cycle  or  on  foot.  There  is  an  almost 
level  cycle  road  of  some  twenty-two  miles 
going  round  the  hills,  the  eighteen-mile  foot 
road,  as  is  usual  in  Uganda,  going  over  the 
top  of  them  all,  and  making  travelling  very 
laborious. 

Arrived  at  Mengo,  the  traveller  is  always 
much  impressed  by  the  great  King's  Road. 
From  the  earliest  recorded  time  the  Baganda 
have  always  had  roads  to  the  main  centres 
of  their  kingdom,  and  this  road  was  made 
entirely  by  the  natives  without  any  instruc- 
tion from  Europeans.  The  white  line  across 
the  top  is  the  fence  of  the  King's  '  lubiri ' 
(enclosure). 

It  may  be  asked,  Where  are  the  houses  of 
the  natives,  of  whom  more  than  60,000  live 

3 


1 6   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


in  Mengo  now  ?  They  can  rarely  be  seen 
from  the  road,  as  the  roads  are  bounded  by 
reed  fences,  and  each  house  is  surrounded 
by  a  grove  of  plantains,  banana,  and  wild 
fig-trees.  The  reed  fences  are  not  sub- 
stantial, and,  latterly,  most  natives  have  taken 
to  making  growing  fences.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  cut  off  the  branch  of  a  tree, 
or  the  upper  half  of  the  stem,  stick  it  into 
the  ground,  and  with  the  first  rain  it  takes 
root  and  grows,  so  that  a  living  fence  is 
the  simplest  thing  to  propagate.  The  poles 
used  to  hold  the  telegraph  wires  in  Usoga 
and  Uganda  were  saplings,  which  have 
taken  root  and  are  now  good  growing  trees. 
Similar  poles  stuck  into  the  ground  as 
table-legs  occasionally  take  root  and  produce 
leaves. 

The  ordinal*)-  food  of  the  natives  is 
plantains.  The  difference  between  plantains 
and  bananas  is  tantamount  to  that  between 
cooking  and  eating  apples.    In  appearance 


HOW  TO  GET  THERE  17 


they  are  the  same.  Indeed,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  tell  the  difference  when  seeing 
a  plantain  and  banana  growing  side  by- 
side.  An  idea  of  the  taste  of  plantains 
may  be  gathered  by  mixing  together  a 
potato,  a  turnip,  and  an  artichoke.  They 
are  usually  steamed  in  their  own  leaves, 
and  the  natives  who  can  get  two  meals  a  day, 
at  noon  and  at  evening,  are  perfectly  happy. 
Some  varieties  are  sweet,  but  the  natives 
do  not  care  much  for  these.  There  are 
also  sweet  bananas,  of  which  the  country 
produces  many  excellent  varieties,  but  they 
are  chiefly  used  for  making  beer,  by  squeez- 
ing out  the  juice  and  fermenting  it  with  millet 
seeds,  which  the  natives  call  '  mwembe,' 
the  beer  thus  made  being  called  1  mwenge.' 
An  unfermented  kind  is  much  drunk,  and 
is  called  '  mubisi,'  but  this  turns  sour  in 
the  stomach  if  a  quantity  is  drunk.  They 
grow  a  great  quantity  of  sweet  potatoes, 
which  they  use  chiefly  in  time  of  drought, 


1 8   UGANDA  BY  iPEN  AND  CAMERA 

for  the  plantain  and  banana  will  only  produce 
fruit  when  supplied  with  plenty  of  moisture. 
In  addition  they  have  a  variety  of  vegetables 
similar  to  spinach,  marrow,  beans,  and  peas 
of  an  inferior  quality.  They  eat  meat  when 
they  can  get  it,  but  most  of  them  are  too 
poor  to  afford  this  indulgence  often. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE 

Before  going  further  we  will  introduce  you 
to  the  King  of  the  country,  Daudi  Cwa 
(pronounced  Chwa;  Daudi  means  David). 
He  is  a  son  of  Mwanga,  and  the  grandson 
of  Mtesa.  I  must  not  pass  over  Mwanga, 
the  King's  father.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  he  ran  away  from  his  capital  in  1897, 
and,  after  spending  a  little  time  with  the 
Germans  south  of  Uganda,  escaped  from 
them.  He  finally  joined  King  Kaberega, 
his  old  Munyoro  enemy,  and  they  together 
joined  hands  with  the  remnant  of  the  Sou- 
danese mutineers.  In  the  end  they  were 
captured  by  the  troops  of  the  Government, 
and  Mwanga,    with    Kaberega,    was  till 

19 


2o   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


1903  a  prisoner  in  the  Seychelles  Islands, 
where  he  received  an  allowance  of  some 
one  hundred  rupees  per  month  from  the 
British  Government.  He  wrote  letters  at 
various  times  entreating  his  chiefs  to  pity 
him  and  get  him  restored  to  his  throne,  but 
could  find  no  sympathy.  The  country  on 
the  whole  was  only  too  glad  to  be  rid  of  him, 
though  we  know  perfectly  well  there  are 
many  who  would  have  been  very  glad  to 
see  him  restored,  and,  with  him,  the  old  state 
of  things.  Their  hopes  have,  however,  been 
destroyed,  as  Mwanga  died  in  the  Seychelles 
in  May,  1903.  He  was  born  in  1866,  and 
was  only  eighteen  when  Mtesa  died.  Mtesa 
appointed  him  as  his  successor.  The  eldest 
son  was  not  necessarily  heir  to  the  throne. 
Each  king  was,  as  a  rule,  appointed  by  his 
predecessor.  Mwanga  and  Kiwewa  were  the 
only  two  sons  of  Mtesa  allowed  out  of  prison. 
All  the.  others  were  kept  in  captivity,  so 
that  when  the  new  king  came  to  the  throne, 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  21 


he  could  easily  put  his  brothers  to  death. 
Mtesa  always  said  that  Mwanga  was  a  most 
gentle   and   obedient   son.    Apparently  in 
those  days  he  was  not  the  vicious  character 
he  turned  out  to  be  later  on,  for  he  did  not 
kill  his  brothers  when  he  ascended  the  throne. 
Kalema,  another  brother,  did,  however,  murder 
his  kinsmen.    He  had  them  all  conveyed 
to  an  island,  or,  rather,  a  raised  piece  of 
land  in  Budo,  some  eight  miles  from  Mengo, 
around  which  he  dug  an  enormous  trench. 
Across  the  trench  was  thrown  a  pole,  which 
served  as  a  bridge  to  convey  a  very  small 
amount  of  food.    When  the  poor  wretches 
were  half  starved  he  threw  fire  across,  burn- 
ing the  grass  huts  in  which  they  were  living, 
and  as  the  inmates  crawled  out  he  shot  at 
them  and  killed  them,  some  half-dozen  in 
all.     Mwanga's   later  disposition   was  un- 
doubtedly  the   result   of    the   practice  of 
polygamy  and  other  sins. 

Daudi  Cwa  was  born  on  August  8,  1896, 


22   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


and  commenced  to  reign  on  August  14, 
1897.  King  Daudi  is  a  very  nice  little 
boy,  and  is  growing  up,  we  trust,  a  good 
Christian.  He  feels  his  position,  and  the 
natives  respect  him  very  highly  indeed,  and 
consider  it  a  great  honour  to  work  for 
the  king.  On  anniversaries  of  his  birthday, 
and  coronation  day,  a  guard  of  honour  of 
Indian  troops  is  usually  sent  up  to  his  en- 
closure, and  the  king  is  taken  round  by  the 
European  official  in  charge  of  the  district 
to  inspect  the  troops.  He  usually  makes 
on  such  occasions  a  feast  for  European 
residents,  for  whom  he  prepares  tables,  knives 
and  forks,  and  as  many  civilised  dishes  as 
he  can  muster. 

The  government  is  at  present  in  the  hands 
of  three  regents  appointed  by  the  British 
Administration,  Apolo,  the  Katikiro  (Prime 
Ministerwho  visited  England),  being  the  head ; 
Zakaria  Kizito,  or  Kisingiri,  being  the  second, 
and  the  third,  Stanilas  Mugwania,  a  Romanist. 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  23 

These  men  have  charge  of  the  king  until  he 
attains  his  majority  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years. 
There  is  a  native  council  of  representatives 
who  constitute  a  sort  of  parliament,  in  which 
all  native  laws  are  drawn  up  and  then  sub- 
mitted for  the  approval  of  the  commissioner, 
and  this  council  discusses  affairs  once  a  week 
with  an  officer  of  the  Administration.  The 
king  presides  over  the  council  at  times,  and 
always  on  state  occasions  sits  on  his  chair 
attired  in  his  regal  robes.  Chiefs  of  high 
rank  may  sit  on  a  chair  or  a  bench  in  the 
council,  but  the  majority  sit  on  the  ground, 
which  is  always  covered  with  a  plentiful 
supply  of  fresh  grass. 

In  Mwanga's  days,  certainly  up  to  1888, 
no  one  but  Europeans  dare  sit  on  a  chair  in 
his  presence,  and  no  native  dare  let  it  be 
known  that  he  had  a  chair  in  his  possession. 
One  or  two  daring  spirits  tried  this,  but 
their  heads  were  cut  off.  When  the  king 
visited  any  chief  he  was  invariably  shown 


24  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

into  an  empty  room,  which  each  chief  always 
kept  for  his  visitors,  so  that  they  might  not 
cast  covetous  eyes  on  his  belongings.  One 
chief  possessed  a  stool,  and  one  of  his  serfs 
happened  to  sit  on  it.  He  was  promptly 
beheaded  by  his  chief,  who  said  that  any  one 
sufficiently  assuming  to  sit  on  his  stool  would 
not  be  long  before  he  was  usurping  his 
position  altogether,  and  was  much  better  out 
of  the  way. 

Some  idea  of  the  state  of  society  in  the 
king's  palace  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact 
that  the  king's  mother  (the  Namasole)  had 
to  be  removed  entirely  from  the  palace,  and 
made  to  live  in  a  separate  house  some  two 
miles  away.  Her  character  was  of  such  a 
nature,  and  she  drank  so  immoderately,  that 
her  influence  was  too  bad  for  her  young  son. 
He  was  in  charge  of  an  old  nurse,  but  lately 
all  women  servants  have  been  expelled  from 
the  enclosure,  only  men  and  boys  being 
allowed  to  serve  the  king.    His  education 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  25 

is  being  attended  to  spiritually  by  Ham 
Mukasa,  who  recently  accompanied  the 
Katikiro  to  England,  and  his  education  in 
general  by  two  of  the  teachers  trained  in 
the  Boys'  School,  Mengo.  He  is  learning 
English,  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic. 

That  the  king  appreciates  the  European 
missionaries,  and  their  friendly  feeling  to- 
wards him,  has  been  evinced  by  a  curious 
native  custom  which  he  has  followed  several 
times.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  sent 
his  teacher  with  a  garment  to  me  with  the 
following  message  :  '  The  king  has  sent  me 
to  salute  you.  He  is  sorry  he  cannot  come 
to  see  you  himself,  but,  as  he  cannot,  he 
has  sent  you  his  shirt  to  wear  for  a  few  days, 
and  you  are  to  think  of  his  love  for  you  when 
wearing  it ' ;  and  when  going  home  on  fur- 
lough he  gave  me  a  pair  of  sandals,  which 
he  took  from  his  feet  for  that  purpose.  These 
are  the  greatest  marks  of  affection  that  can 
be  shown  in  Uganda.    King  Daudi  is  a  very 


26   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


lovable,  quiet  little  fellow,  and  there  is 
every  hope  that  he  will  grow  up  a  Christian 
man. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  it  is 
earnestly  hoped  that  Christians  in  England 
will  continually  remember  him  in  their 
prayers,  the  influence  of  the  king  being  so 
very  great  in  such  a  country.  I  would  ask 
the  same  for  his  cousin,  who  goes  by  the 
title  of  the  Queen-sister,  who  is  shown  here 
being  carried  on  a  man's  shoulders,  the  usual 
mode  of  locomotion  on  great  occasions,  not 
only  for  her,  but  for  the  king  as  well.  She 
was  brought  up  in  the  C.M.S.  mission  school 
as  a  Christian,  but  a  recent  disagreement 
with  the  head  chief  on  the  question  of  her 
fiance  has  resulted  in  her  going  over  to  the 
French  R.C.  Mission.  Her  name  is  Yunia. 
She  does  not  live  in  the  king's  palace,  though 
she  is  a  constant  visitor  there. 

The  Baganda  are  a  very  clever  people, 
intelligent,  though  with  rather  crude  ideas 


y  UNI  A  j  DAUDI'S  COUSIN,  THE  QUEEN-SISTER. 

{Always  carried  shculder-high  on  State  Occasions.) 


.1 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  27 


on  some  points.  On  one  occasion  some 
boys  requested  that  a  big  tree  close  to  the 
house  might  be  hewn  down,  because  it  made 
the  wind  blow.  They  thought  the  rustling 
of  the  leaves  made  the  wind  blow,  instead 
of  vice  versa.  Another  boy,  seeing  a  number 
of  heads  in  an  illustrated  paper,  asked  why 
they  had  all  been  beheaded.  In  his  own 
village,  not  long  before,  his  chief  had  cut 
off  the  heads  of  four  or  five  men,  and  stuck 
their  heads  on  poles.  The  children  used 
to  be  taught  that  no  other  people  existed 
excepting  the  Baganda,  the  Basoga,  the 
Bakede,  the  Banyoro,  the  Batoro,  and  other 
immediately  surrounding  nations.  They 
thought  the  horizon  was  supported  by  props, 
just  as  they  support  their  reed  fences, 
and  that  it  was  the  outside  edge  of  the 
world. 

The  language  is  a  very  interesting  one 
to  study.  It  is  one  of  the  Bantu  group,  and, 
though  very  complete  and  very  elastic  in 


28   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


the  formation  of  words,  it  is  difficult  to 
introduce  new  ideas  into  it. 

For  a  long  time  our  missionaries  have  used 
a  word,  '  enenya,'  meaning  1  to  repent,' 
but  one  day,  recently,  in  the  class,  an 
intelligent  evangelist  said  to  the  teacher  : 
'  The  word  you  have  just  been  explaining 
to  us  does  not  at  all  mean  what  you  think 
it  does.  Let  me  explain  to  you  the  real 
meaning  of  it.  Supposing  a  man  is  going 
along  the  road  armed  with  a  spear,  and  he 
meets  two  men  unarmed  carrying  bundles 
of  food.  He  spears  one,  and  robs  him  of 
his  load.  A  few  minutes  afterwards  he 
thinks  to  himself,  "  How  foolish  I  was  to  let 
the  other  man  escape  !  I  might  have  had 
his  load  as  well."  He  immediately  follows 
him,  catches  him  up,  spears  him,  and  takes 
his  load  too.  Now,  the  regret  that  he  felt 
at  not  having  killed  the  second  man  is 
explained  by  the  word  "  enenya,"  which  can 
hardly  be  said  to  mean  "  to  repent."  '  It 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  29 


will  thus  be  seen  that  it  is  very  easy 
indeed  to  make  mistakes  when  learning  a 
new  language. 

Very  stupid  mistakes  have  often  been 
made  by  new  residents.  One  lady  showed 
her  servant  some  withered  flowers,  and  said 
to  him,  '  Bring  me  some  flowers  like  these 
from  the  garden.'  In  a  few  minutes  the 
boy  returned  with  all  the  withered  flowers 
he  could  find,  and  said,  '  These  are  all  I 
can  find.  All  the  others  are  in  bloom.' 
What  the  lady  should  have  said  was,  '  Bring 
me  some  flowers  of  this  nature.' 

Let  us  now  turn  to  our  mission  station 
in  the  capital,  which  is  built  on  a  hill  called 
Namirembe.  Namirembe  is  one  of  many 
names  applied  to  parts  of  the  capital. 
Mengo  is  the  name  of  the  king's  hill,  and 
from  this  the  capital  takes  its  name.  Nami- 
rembe is  in  the  capital,  and  is  merely  the 
name  of  the  hill  on  which  our  mission  station 
is  built.    Kampala  is  the  next  hill,  and  is 


30   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

the  name  of  the  hill  on  which  the  govern- 
ment station  is  erected.  Nakasero  is  the 
hill  beyond,  on  which  are  the  military- 
quarters  ;  but  the  whole  are  in  the  capital. 

Namirembe  is  4,442  feet  above  sea  level, 
and  on  it  is  the  cathedral  of  the  C.M.S. 
mission.  Here  reside  Bishop  Tucker,  the 
director  of  the  C.M.S.  in  Uganda,  Arch- 
deacon Walker,  secretary  of  the  mission, 
and  several  missionaries,  including  wives, 
who  train  evangelists  and  teachers,  conduct 
the  boys'  and  girls'  school  and  various 
Bible  classes. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  average 
daily  attendance  at  the  classes  is  between 
800  and  900  in  Mengo,  not  to  speak  of 
the  300  daily  patients  at  the  dispensary, 
it  will  be  seen  that  a  large  staff  is  re- 
quired. Two  leading  native  teachers  are 
also  stationed  here,  who  conduct  classes 
for  the  work  of  training  and  examining 
candidates   for   baptism   and  confirmation. 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  31 


The  attendance  on  Saturdays  is  smaller,  as 
that  is  the  day  on  which  intending  wor- 
shippers at  church  on  Sundays  must  wash 
their  clothes,  not  many  people  possessing 
more  than  one  suit. 

On  Saturday  mornings  are  held  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Church  Council,  which  conducts 
the  business  of  the  Church  of  Uganda. 

On  Monday,  classes  are  not  held.  It  is 
the  day  on  which  all  chiefs  must  visit  the 
king,  and  attend  the  native  parliament 
meeting.  It  is  also  the  general  time  for 
visiting.  Some  missionaries  are  able  to 
itinerate  and  conduct  services  on  that  day. 
Others  are  busy  seeing  teachers  in  from 
the  country.  Or,  if  time  allows,  they 
make  articles  of  household  furniture,  school 
apparatus,  and  meet  other  requirements,  for 
in  Uganda  the  amount  of  labour  available 
for  such  purposes  is  extremely  limited. 
A  missionary,  as  a  rule,  has  to  be  his  own 
boot-mender,    carpenter,    hair-dresser,  and 

4 


32   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


fulfil  a  great  many  duties  of  which  he  never 
dreamed  when  he  left  England.  Monday 
also  affords  time  for  translational  and  other 
language  work  which  must  be  done. 

The  conditions  of  life  are  now  becoming 
much  improved,  and  better  houses  are  being 
erected.  The  easiest  plan,  and  the  one 
most  usually  followed,  is  to  make  a  frame- 
work of  palm  poles,  which  often  have  to 
be  carried  eight  to  ten  miles  on  men's  heads 
from  the  forests.  Across  these  twigs  and 
sticks  are  tied  on  with  the  bark  of  a  tree, 
the  space  being  filled  in  with  mud.  When 
plastered  this  makes  a  very  respectable  wall, 
which  is  whitewashed  or  yellow-washed  with 
a  kind  of  chalky  clay. 

The  roofs  are  thatched  with  grass,  a  work 
at  which  the  people  are  very  skilful,  but 
at  which  they  have  some  peculiar  customs. 
A  thatcher  will  often  be  seen  smoking  a 
pipe  while  putting  on  the  grass,  and  if  a 
foreman    or    European    comes    upon  him 


HOUSE-BUILDING  BY  .MISSIONARIES  AND  NATIVES. 
I.  BUILDING.  2.  CARPENTERING.  3.  THATCHING. 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  33 


suddenly,  he  will  push  the  lighted  pipe  in 
amongst  the  thatch,  at  the  risk  of  setting 
fire  to  the  whole  structure.  These  grass 
roofs  ignite  very  readily,  and  unless  the 
ceiling  of  the  rooms  is  thickly  covered  with 
earth,  it  is  almost  an  impossible  feat  to 
rescue  household  furniture  with  the  roof  all 
alight.  If,  however,  an  earth  ceiling  has 
been  provided,  after  the  first  blaze  of  the 
grass,  which  usually  expends  itself  in  eight 
to  ten  minutes,  it  is  possible  to  get  out 
most  of  one's  effects  whilst  the  wood-work 
smoulders. 

Many  missionaries  have  to  do  the  greater 
part  of  the  carpentering  for  their  homes, 
and  our  illustration  shows  one  of  them  so 
employed.  It  is  possible,  sometimes,  but 
not  always,  to  get  native  help.  It  must 
not  be  supposed  that  house  building  must 
needs  be  a  work  carried  on  without  any 
chance  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  provided 
that  the   missionary  has  learnt  something 


34  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

of  the  language.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no 
work  is  more  trying  to  the  temper,  or  gives 
more  splendid  opportunities  of  proving,  by 
a  Christian  demeanour  under  all  circum- 
stances, what  a  life  influenced  by  the  Gospel 
is.  Indeed,  many  workmen,  finding  the 
missionary  a  kind  master,  so  very  different  to 
their  own  native  overseers,  are  willing  to 
listen  to  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel. 

I  know  one  case  of  a  man  who  had  been 
in  touch  with  our  missionaries  ever  since 
there  was  a  mission  in  Uganda.  He  had 
always  resisted  every  effort  to  get  him  to 
read.  But  when  helping  to  build  a  house 
he  was  again  invited  to  learn.  He  at  last 
yielded,  received  his  first  lessons  during  meal- 
times, and  is  now  reading  for  baptism,  much 
to  the  astonishment  of  his  fellow  natives, 
who  cannot  understand  his  willingness  to 
begin  after  refusing  for  so  many  years.  Let 
no  one  think  that  manual  labour  is  without 
its  opportunities  of  preaching  the  Gospel 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  35 


We  cannot  remember  too  much  or  too  often 
that  it  is  our  lives,  far  more  than  our  teach- 
ing in  a  class,  that  the  natives  look  at  and 
try  to  understand.  We  do,  indeed,  need 
to  be  '  epistles  known  and  read  of  all  men.' 
Angry  words  about  some  mistake  by  an 
incapable  workman  often  do  serious  harm, 
and  deter  people  from  coming  under  the 
influence  of  the  Gospel. 

The  first  thing  the  natives  ask  about  a 
missionary  is,  'Is  he  a  kind  man  ? '  or,  as 
they  put  it,  '  Alina  ekisa  ?  '  ('Has  he 
kindness?')  If  they  are  told  that  'he  has 
kindness,'  then  they  desire  to  come  and 
see  him,  and  are  willing  to  listen  to  his 
teaching.  But  if  he  is  announced  to  be  a 
man  of  'busungu'  (anger),  people  are  immedi- 
ately afraid  of  him,  and  take  care  to  stay 
away. 

More  substantial  houses  of  sunburnt  bricks 
are  now  being  built,  and  before  long  we 
may  hope  to  see  corrugated  iron  roofs,  which, 


36   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


though  safer  from  fire,  will  not  be  nearly 
so  cool,  grass  roofs  being  very  good  noncon- 
ductors of  heat.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  say  what  the  heat  is  in  the  sun,  but  in 
the  shade  of  the  verandah  it  rarely  registers 
more  than  8o°  to  850,  and  inside  the  house 
it  is  usually  in  the  daytime  70°  to  72°, 
and  at  night  in  the  house  about  an  average 
of  68°.  It  is  rarely  necessary  to  have  a 
fire,  and  few  houses  can  boast  of  a  fireplace. 
Of  course,  no  glass  is  used  for  windows. 
It  is  difficult  to  wash  the  floors,  as  they  are 
only  beaten  earth,  and  the  usual  plan  is  to 
smear  them  over  with  cow  dung  once  in 
every  two  or  three  weeks.  This  is  a 
necessity,  not  only  to  protect  the  floors  and 
to  harden  the  surface,  but  also  to  keep  down 
the  number  of  fleas  and  jiggers,  which  are 
very  plentiful  in  the  country.  The  smearing 
with  cow  dung  appears  to  fasten  them  to 
the  floor. 

The  native  word  for  jiggers  is  'mvunza,' 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  37 


probably  taken  from  the  Kiswahili  word 
'  mvunda  '  (a  maggot),  or  it  may  have  been 
derived  from  the  Luganda  '  kuvunda,'  to  rot, 
the  causative  of  which  makes  1  kuvunza,'  to 
make  to  rot.  These  jiggers  are  very  tiny 
white  fleas,  so  small  as  to  be  almost  invisible 
to  the  naked  eye,  though  the  natives  can 
see  them  on  their  black  skins.  They  burrow 
under  the  toe  nail,  or  in  the  hard  part  of 
the  heel,  and  live  there,  until  ejected  with 
the  point  of  a  needle ;  and  as  the  ejection  is 
an  operation  of  considerable  pain,  the  sufferer 
often  prefers  to  leave  in  the  jiggers  for  a 
time,  in  spite  of  the  irritation  caused.  The 
jigger  lays  a  number  of  eggs  in  its  home 
in  the  foot,  which,  when  ready  for  hatching, 
fall  out  on  to  the  ground,  and  are  hatched  in 
the  dust ;  but  the  mother  stays  in  the  foot, 
and  causes  serious  ulcers,  unless  ejected. 

Jiggers  were  first  brought  from  the  West 
Indies  to  West  Africa,  crossed  Uganda  en 
route  to  the  east  coast,  but  were  not  known 


38   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


in  Uganda  until  1892.  They  caused  quite 
a  panic  when  they  first  arrived.  Fifty 
people  at  one  chief s  place  died  from  the 
effects  of  their  invasions,  and  twenty  at 
another  chief's  place.  The  latter  was  Mika 
Sematimba,  who  visited  England  some  years 
ago  with  Archdeacon  Walker,  and  whose 
figures  can  be  taken  as  reliable.  Many 
people  have  lost  toes  through  not  attending 
to  the  jiggers  early  enough.  The  blood 
of  the  natives  is  such  that  the  flesh  readily 
festers,  and  serious  ulcers  ensue.  It  is  almost 
impossible  for  Europeans  to  quite  escape 
the  attacks  of  these  pests,  as  they  get  on 
to  the  bedding  when  hung  out  in  the  sun, 
and  burrow  into  the  feet  of  the  victim  while 
he  is  sleeping. 

The  house-work  of  Europeans  is  usually 
performed  by  boys,  who  make  very  good 
servants.  They  wash  clothes  and  cook  very 
well,  though  at  times  they  make  curious 
mistakes   through   ignorance.     One  cook, 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PEOPLE  39 


whose  master  was  teaching  in  school,  greatly 
surprised  him  when  he  sat  down  to  lunch. 
He  found  that  the  cook,  as  he  had  not  quite 
sufficient  greengages  to  fill  up  the  pie  dish, 
had  supplied  the  deficiency  with  onions,  and 
on  being  questioned,  merely  remarked, 
*  Well,  sir,  don't  we  use  onions  for  almost 
everything  nowadays?'  It  is  only  lately 
that  onions  have  been  procurable  in  any 
quantity. 

One  needs  to  be  extremely  careful  in 
watching  the  culinary  operations.  Happily 
it  is  possible,  nowadays,  to  get  a  fair  variety 
of  food,  for  most  Europeans  cannot  wisely 
attempt  to  live  in  native  fashion,  as  the 
health  suffers,  and  the  constitution  is  quickly 
undermined.  Fresh  meat,  chiefly  goats' 
flesh,  is  obtainable  in  markets  in  most  of 
the  large  centres  daily.  Beef  sometimes  ; 
but  it  is  not  always  advisable  to  buy  beef. 
The  natives  rarely  sell  their  cattle  for  killing, 
unless  they  fear  they  larejgoing  to  die  of 


40   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


some  disease,  or  unless  a  tough  old  bull  is 
quite  useless  for  anything  else  but  to  be 
killed  and  sold.  It  is  possible  to  obtain 
potatoes,  and  to  grow  or  buy  some  English 
vegetables,  such  as  cabbages,  cauliflowers, 
carrots,  and  turnips,  and  food  of  all  kinds 
can  be  readily  imported  now. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS 

IT  is  a  common  thing  with  most  travellers 
in  African  countries  to  tell  us  that  most 
black  races  have  no  idea  of  a  God  or  a 
Supreme  Being.  This  is  quite  a  mistake  ; 
indeed,  most  races  will  be  found  to  have  a 
belief  in  a  Supreme  God.  Certainly  the 
Baganda  have,  and  the  word  they  use — 
'  Katonda ' — for  the  Creator  of  the  world  is 
the  same  word  which  is  now  used  for  God  ; 
for  they  believe  that  Katonda  sent  down 
from  heaven  the  inhabitants  of  the  world. 

Their  story  runs  thus  :  In  the  beginning 
Katonda  told  his  son,  Kintu,  and  his  wife, 
Namba,  to  come  down  into  the  world  and  to 
bear  children,  who  should  be  the  inhabitants 

41 


42   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

therein.  He  told  them,  '  When  you  go  down 
to  the  world  to-morrow,  get  up  early  in  the 
morning,  and  slip  away  before  your  brother 
Lumbe  (that  is,  Death)  knows  you  are  going, 
for  if  he  knows  he  will  go  with  you,  and  will 
kill  your  children.' 

They  set  off  in  the  morning,  but,  having 
travelled  part  of  the  distance,  the  wife  said 
to  her  husband,  '  I  have  brought  this  fowl 
with  me,  but  I  have  left  the  Indian  corn  for 
its  food  hanging  up  in  the  porch  of  the 
house.  I  am  going  back  to  fetch  it.'  Kintu, 
the  husband,  remonstrated  with  her,  but  in 
vain.  She  went  back,  and  just  as  she  came 
out  of  the  house,  after  taking  down  the 
bundle  of  corn  hanging  in  the  porch,  she 
encountered  Death  (Lumbe),  who  asked  her 
where  she  was  going.  On  hearing  that  her 
destination  was  the  world,  Lumbe  said, 
'  Well,  I  will  accompany  you.'  He  came 
into  the  world  with  the  first  couple,  and  as 
children  were  born  to  them,  Lumbe  put  an 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  43 

end  to  most  of  them.  Hence  the  world  is 
so  sparsely  populated. 

We  must  notice  here  a  very  remarkable 
similarity  between  this  story  and  our  own 
account  of  the  Creation.  Death  is  repre- 
sented as  coming  into  the  world  through  the 
disobedience  of  the  woman. 

The  body,  they  say,  can  die ;  but  the  spirit 
cannot  die.  They  have  no  idea,  however, 
that  the  spirit  returns  to  the  God  who  gave 
it.  What  they  believe  is,  that  the  spirit 
remains  somewhere  near  the  body,  and  must 
be  attended  to,  just  as  when  alive.  Much 
in  the  same  way  as  the  Chinese  believe  in 
ancestral  worship,  so  the  Baganda  take  the 
greatest  care  of  the  graves  of  their  ancestors, 
and  pay  attention  to  the  wants  of  the  spirits. 

This  is  especially  so  with  kings.  As  their 
first  king  came  down  from  heaven,  they  say 
they  must  be  divine,  and  so  their  spirits  must 
be  worshipped,  or  if  not  actually  worshipped, 
special  attention  must  be  paid  to  them.  As 


44  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


a  result  of  this,  when  a  king  dies,  his  body- 
is  always  buried  in  the  floor  of  the  house 
in  which  he  has  been  living.  The  old  serfs 
and  servants  who  waited  on  him  during  his 
lifetime  remain  in  the  house.  Fresh  grass  is 
spread  on  the  floor,  and  they  keep  the  place 
clean,  as  they  used  to  for  the  living  king,  and 
the  serfs  and  servants  bring  presents  of  food, 
or  money,  or  beer,  or  firewood  to  the  spirit 
— firewood  because  a  fire  must  always  be 
kept  burning,  night  and  day,  in  honour  of 
the  spirit.  The  head  wife  of  Mtesa  and  the 
queen-sister  are  both  still  living  on  the  same 
hill  on  which  Mtesa  is  buried ;  but,  both 
being  Christians,  they  do  not  take  the  same 
interest  in  keeping  up  the  old  rites  as  they 
used  to.  So  much  is  this  the  case,  that  the 
fence  around  the  enclosure  is  always  more  or 
less  in  a  state  of  disrepair.  The  interiors 
of  the  tombs  are  usually  decorated,  with 
spears  and  shields  made  of  beaten  brass, 
copper,  or  iron,  and  decorated  with  coloured 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  45 


cloths.  A  number  of  cloths  and  tusks  of 
ivory  have  usually  been  buried  with  the  body 
of  a  king. 

Although  near  the  capital  these  supersti- 
tions are  to  some  extent  dying  out,  it  is 
not  so  in  the  country — for  Uganda  is  by 
no  means  Christianised  throughout.  An 
instance  of  this  is  seen  in  our  picture,  which 
represents  the  tomb  of  King  Kamanya,  the 
grandfather  of  Mtesa.  This  is  some  eight 
miles  from  Mengo,  and  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  house  is  quite  a  modern  one.  It  has 
only  lately  been  erected,  since  the  old 
structure  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  is  a 
house  such  as  a  chief  of  high  rank  lives  in, 
and  has  panelled  shutters  and  doors.  The 
interior  of  the  tomb  has  been  decorated  with 
coloured  printed  cloths  and  white  calico,  and 
the  entrance  is  guarded  by  a  door  with  bells 
attached.  The  three  old  women  sitting  be- 
side the  door  live  inside  the  tomb,  and  keep 
the  fire  burning  there,  as  has  always  been 


46   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


done,  and  the  pile  of  logs  in  the  courtyard 
had  been  brought  by  the  old  servants  of  the 
king  as  an  offering  to  the  spirit. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  is  alto- 
gether the  work  of  the  heathen.  The  house 
was  built  with  the  sanction  of  the  Prime 
Minister,  who  is  a  most  earnest  Christian, 
and  the  decorations  of  the  interior  were 
carried  out  under  the  supervision  of  Mbogo, 
the  chief  Mohammedan  prince,  only  in  the 
year  1902.  It  is  an  instance  of  how  very 
hard  superstition  dies,  and  how  very  much 
popular  feeling  is  against  any  change  in  the 
old  habits  of  the  people — though  probably 
their  superstition  does  not  mean  very  much 
more  to  some  people  than  the  nailing  of  a 
horseshoe  on  the  door  of  a  barn. 

One  offering  of  especial  value  in  the  eyes 
of  the  spirit  used  to  be  human  blood,  and 
Mtesa  offered  3,000  human  beings  in  one 
day  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  spirit  of  Suna,  his 
father.    It  is  impossible  to  walk  anywhere 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  47 


for  half  a  mile  around  the  tree  where  this 
sacrifice  was  offered  without  passing  over 
human  bones,  and  it  is  only  four  miles  from 
Mengo.  It  is  one  of  a  great  number  of 
similar  trees  in  the  country. 

There  was  a  universal  belief  in  the  Lubare, 
or  spirit ;  but  this  Lubare  was  not  one  spirit, 
but  many.  The  chief  spirit  was  that  of  the 
lake,  whose  headquarters  were  probably  the 
island  of  Bukasa ;  but  there  was  also  the 
Lubare  of  thunder,  of  rain,  of  war,  of  sick- 
ness, and,  in  fact,  of  almost  everything.  They 
appear  to  believe  that  all  these  Lubare  owe 
their  allegiance  to  the  Divine  Creator.  Of 
course  there  was  no  idea  of  love  in  their  minds ; 
in  fact,  no  word  meaning  love  exists  in  their 
language.  The  word  which  we  use  for  love 
in  our  missionary  teaching  originally  meant 
'  to  be  fond  of,'  in  the  sense  of  animal  love, 
and  the  same  word  is  used  for  '  to  desire.' 

The  whole  idea  of  the  people  connected 
with  the  Lubare  was,  as  is  common  with 

5 


48   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


most  African  races,  that  the  Lubare  acted 
in  the  capacity  of  a  private  detective,  always 
trying  to  find  out  their  crimes  and  punish 
them  for  them.  To  propitiate  the  Lubare, 
offerings  were  made  at  various  shrines, 
where  lived  the  intermediaries  between  the 
spirit  and  the  natural  worlds.  These  inter- 
mediaries are  called  '  mandwas' ;  but  that  the 
people  prayed  to  the  spirit,  or  probably  to 
the  Creator,  is  a  fact.  A  common  expression 
after  any  good  fortune  has  befallen  a  man, 
and  he  has  been  shaken  by  the  hand  by  his 
friends  and  received  their  congratulations, 
is  to  say,  '  Webale  kusaba,'  which  is, 
'  Thank  you  for  praying  (for  me).'  The 
origin  of  the  expression  had  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  Christianity  ;  it  is  merely  a 
relic  of  their  own  Lubare  worship,  and  was 
used  to  thank  people  for  praying  to  the  Lubare. 
They  prayed ,  and  went  to  the  '  mandwa ' 
for  advice  in  all  their  undertakings,  such 
as  going  to  war,  starting  on  a  journey,  and 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  49 


even  if  they  had  no  children.  When  a  chief 
built  a  house,  that  house  was  always  dedicated 
by  the  child  of  the  '  sabadu '  being  sacrificed 
when  the  house  was  first  entered  after 
completion.  The  '  sabadu '  was  the  head  of 
the  household  servants. 

All  the  implements  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration were  used  in  connexion  with  spirit 
worship.  The  long  brushes  like  mops  were 
the  property  of  an  old  witch  called  Tajuba, 
who  died  very  recently.  These  are  made 
of  wood  and  cow-hide,  and  ornamented  with 
beads  and  cowrie  shells,  the  tops  being 
feathers.  They  are  really  magic  wands. 
The  head-dress  to  the  left  is  of  basket-work 
and  beads,  and  was  donned  by  a  medicine 
man  when  visiting  a  sick  patient.  Sickness 
was  always  attributed  to  some  misdemeanour 
on  the  part  of  the  sufferer,  the  sickness 
being  the  punishment  inflicted  by  the  Lubare. 
The  drum  and  shield  were  beaten  or  shaken 
to  drive  away  the  spirit.    The  horns  and 


50   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


charms  in  the  front  of  the  picture  had  great 
magical  value,  and  the  shells  and  beads 
to  the  right  of  the  picture  were  used  by 
astrologers  and  fortune-tellers.  The  pack 
of  cards,  called  mgato,'  nine  in  number,  were 
used  very  much  in  each  '  kigwa  1  (house  of 
the  1  mandwa ').  Each  card  is  made  of  leather, 
and  is  engraved  with  different  patterns,  and 
these  were  shuffled  and  thrown  down  on 
the  ground,  much  as  dice  are  thrown,  and 
the  '  mandwa 5  was  supposed  to  be  able  to  tell 
by  the  way  they  fell  what  would  be  the 
future  of  the  inquirer.  Of  course,  for  all 
these  affairs  the  ' mandwa  '  demanded  ex- 
tortionate fees.  The  clay  jar  with  the  two 
branches,  in  the  middle  of  the  picture,  was 
used  in  all  human  sacrifices,  a  liquid  being 
put  in,  which  all  victims  were  made  to  drink 
of  prior  to  being  offered  up. 

A  native  came  to  me  very  recently  and 
begged  for  a  present  of  cowrie  shells,  because 
a  1  mandwa '  had  threatened  to  bewitch  him 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  51 

if  he  did  not  produce  a  sum  of  money  by 
a  certain  time,  and  he  was  intensely  afraid 
of  him.  Natives  often  paid,  and  still  pay, 
enormous  sums  of  money,  as  much  as  20,000 
or  30,000  cowrie  shells,  for  a  charm  to  hang 
on  their  necks  to  protect  them  against  spirits 
and  disease.  In  some  parts  of  the  country 
the  idea  is  prevalent  that  European  mission- 
aries have  the  power  of  bewitching  people, 
and  I  was  told  by  a  chief,  only  in  1902, 
that  whenever  a  missionary  or  a  teacher 
came  into  the  village,  the  cry  went  round, 
*  Lay  in  a  stock  of  water.  The  European 
is  coming  to  put  medicine  into  the  well  to 
change  our  hearts  and  to  make  us  read 
his  religion.'  For  a  long  time  people 
thought  that  the  missionary  drank  their 
children's  blood  and  ate  the  heart  out  of 
their  dead  chiefs.  In  one  instance  a  mission- 
ary consented  to  have  a  building  erected 
over  the  tomb  of  a  big  chief,  close  to  the 
church,  to  prove  to  the  people  that  he  had 


52   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

not  eaten  the  heart  of  the  chief,  and  so 
incensed  the  spirit,  which  they  thought  for 
a  long  time  was  the  case. 

Several    Europeans   are    buried    in  the 
churchyard  at  Namirembe,    and,  as  many 
of  these   were   Government   officials,  one 
member  of  the  Government  sent  up  a  sum 
of  money  to  keep  these  graves  in  repair. 
A  teacher   was    appointed  to  the  task  of 
superintending  the  work,  for  which  he  was 
paid.      Many    natives   who    had  recently 
joined  the  Church  saw  the  teacher  walking 
about  tover  the  graves  and  digging  up  the 
weeds.     He  wanted  assistance,  but  could 
get  no  one  to  help  him,  as  the  bystanders 
said  he  would  be  sure  to  incur  the  wrath 
of  the  spirit  by  walking  about  on  dead  men's 
graves,  and  that  he  would  be  sure  to  be 
very  ill  before  long.    It  was  a  curious  co- 
incidence that  about  a  week  after  the  teacher 
was  taken  ill  with  fever.    It  was  not  by 
any  means  for  the  first  time,  as  fever  is 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  53 


extremely  common  amongst  natives ;  but  a 
great  many  people  asserted  that  his  sickness 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  interfered 
with  the  Europeans'  graves,  and  he  found 
afterwards  that  it  was  quite  impossible  to 
get  any  labourer  to  help  him  to  look  after 
the  burial-place.    In  the  country  districts, 
and  especially  in  Bunyoro  and  Busoga,  a 
little  hut  is  the  commonest  form  of  spirit 
worship,  and  this   is   why  most  travellers 
say  this  is  the  only  form  of  belief.  This 
hut,  or  shrine,  is  made  of  grass  and  twigs, 
.  and  in  it  is  hung  a  snail  shell,  or  a  broken 
piece  of  pot  is  placed  on  the  ground.  Into 
these  receptacles  is  put  every  day  an  offering 
of  food  or  money,  and  unless  this  is  con- 
stantly  kept   up,  it   is  believed   that  the 
wrath  of  the  spirit  is  sure  to  be  incurred, 
and  drought  or  failure  of  the  crops  is  sure 
to  be  the  result. 

As  specimens   of  the   faces  heathenism 
produces,  these  wives  of  Suna  will  suffice. 


54   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

Suna  was  the  father  of  King  Mtesa,  and 
one  can  scarcely  imagine  more  repulsive 
features  than  the  features  of  these  two 
women — features  produced  by  the  lives  they 
have  lived.  The  one  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  picture  has  for  some  time  been  trying 
to  read  and  to  become  a  Christian,  but  it 
is  no  light  matter  for  such  people  to  change 
their  old  habits.  Surely  it  was  to  such 
people  as  these  our  Saviour  was  referring 
when  He  said,  '  Other  sheep  I  have,  which 
are  not  of  this  fold.  Them  also  I  must 
bring,  .  .  .  and  they  shall  become  one  flock, 
one  shepherd.'  He  was  speaking  of  such 
as  these  when  He  said,  '  Feed  My  lambs, 
feed  My  sheep,'  and  to  us  is  committed 
the  work  of  bringing  these  lost  sheep  into 
His  fold  and  giving  them  the  Bread  of 
Life. 

There  is  a  popular  misconception  with 
regard  to  the  state  of  things  in  Uganda 
when  Stanley  first  visited  the  country.  He 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  55 


found  King  Mtesa  a  heathen,  certainly ;  but 
he  found  also  that  some  coast  natives, 
Swahilis  or  Arabs,  had  been  in  the  country 
for  some  time,  and  that  Mtesa,  seeing  them 
praying  as  Mohammedans,  had  been  in- 
quiring about  the  God  to  whom  they  prayed, 
and  about  His  laws,  and  had  been  introduced 
to  the  Koran.  He  had  been  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  this  religion  was  a  step  in 
advance  of  his  own,  and  he  had  almost 
decided  to  accept  it.  So  much  so,  that  he 
had  ordered  all  his  important  chiefs  to  be 
taught  by  these  men,  and  had  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  order  them  to  erect  little  mosques 
in  each  of  their  courtyards,  and  had  told 
them  that  they  and  their  people  must  become 
Mohammedans.  Some  of  them  profess  to 
remain  so  now.  Mtesa  was  in  the  position 
of  a  man  who  was  very  thirsty.  He  longed 
for  something  better  than  he  had,  and  was 
like  thirsty  souls  in  the  desert,  who  arrive 
at   water,    and    are    not    very  particular 


56   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


whether  the  water  is  quite  pure  or  not.  If 
there  is  no  better  within  reach,  they  will 
drink  the  muddy  water,  and  be  thankful  for 
that.  Hence  Mtesa,  until  he  heard  of 
Christianity,  partly  embraced  Mohammedan- 
ism ;  but  Mohammedanism  in  Uganda  is 
not  what  people  imagine  who  read  of  it  as 
practised  by  Arabs  and  Persians.  We  know 
many  Mohammedans  who  never  pray  at  all  : 
we  know  many  who  are  drunkards.  They 
are  only  Mohammedans  in  name,  and,  were 
our  staff  of  missionaries  sufficiently  great,  it 
would  not  be  long  before  there  would  be 
no  more  even  so-called  Mohammedans  in 
Uganda,  for  they  are  not  bigoted,  as  people 
suppose.  They  chiefly  hold  to  that  faith 
because  it  allows  polygamy  and  a  great  deal 
of  licence  in  other  respects  which  Christianity 
forbids. 

As  is  common  with  most  African  races, 
women  are  looked  upon  as  slaves.  They 
are  made  to  provide  food  for  the  family,  to 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AMD  MORALS  57 

cultivate  the  garden,  often  to  help  clean  the 
roads,  to  fetch  all  the  firewood,  to  carry  the 
water  from  the  well,  and,  in  fact,  do  all  the 
drudgery  of  the  house.  The  woman  in  our 
illustration,  carrying  firewood,  had  a  load 
weighing  over  one  hundredweight,  which  she 
had  collected  in  the  forests  and  carried  some 
four  miles  to  her  home. 

The  increase  in  the  population  in  Uganda 
is  very  small,  not  because  the  birth-rate  is 
small,  but  because  the  death-rate  is  almost 
equal  to  it.  It  is  difficult  to  say  what  is  the 
proportion  of  infants'  deaths  ;  probably  some- 
thing more  than  eightyper  cent,  of  the  children 
die  before  they  reach  the  age  of  ten  years. 
This  is  partly  due  to  the  climatic  conditions, 
partly  to  malaria,  partly  the  results  of  the 
evil  lives  of  their  ancestors,  but  a  great  deal 
is  due  to  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  mothers, 
who  seem  not  to  know  how  to  rear  their 
children.  The  very  first  thing  that  happens 
to  a  child  within  an  hour  of  its  birth  is  to 


58   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


take  it  outside  the  house,  put  it  on  a  plantain 
leaf,  and  wash  it  in  cold  water  ;  it  is  then 
smeared  over  with  butter.  Most  of  the 
women  grow  and  smoke  their  own  tobacco, 
which  is  probably  indigenous  to  the  country. 
It  grows  very  readily  indeed,  and  is  of 
good  flavour. 

A  man  desiring  marriage  has  no  thought 
of  love  in  the  matter.  He  simply  makes  a 
bargain  with  the  chief  or  father  of  the  object 
of  his  choice,  and  has  to  promise  exactly 
what  he  will  pay  as  a  wedding  portion, 
generally  £2  to  ^3,  the  amount  being  much 
greater  for  chiefs,  who  can  afford  to  pay.1 
He  has  also  to  state  what  presents  of 
clothing  he  will  give  his  wife  and  her  parents, 
and  to  specify  the  exact  amount  of  food  and 
beer  he  will  provide  for  the  marriage  feast, 
before  he  can  obtain  his  wife.  After 
marriage,  if  he  should  offend  his  wife,  it 

*A  recent  effort  has  been  made  to  limit  the  sum  to  Rs.io 
(  =  135.  4^.)  for  non-chiefs. 


THE  OLD  RELIGION  AND  MORALS  59 


is  a  common  thing  for  her  to  leave  him,  go 
back  to  her  father  or  her  old  chief ;  and  the 
husband  has  to  appear  to  answer  to  the 
charges  laid  against  him  by  her,  and  pay  a 
fine  in  accordance  with  the  enormity  of 
the  offence.  As  the  fine  goes  to  the  father 
of  the  wife,  of  course  she  is  not  allowed 
to  return  until  the  fine  is  paid. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES 

When  one  considers  the  state  of  the 
Church  in  Uganda  at  the  present 
day,  it  is  difficult  to  realise  that  it  was  only- 
thirty  years  ago,  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
year  1875,  that  Sir  H.  M.  Stanley  first 
visited  Uganda,  and  was  told  by  King 
Mtesa  that  he  would  like  to  have  missionaries 
sent  to  his  country.  Our  illustration  will 
help  us  the  better  to  realise  this,  for  the  man 
sitting  on  the  chair  is  one  of  the  first  six 
men,  or  as  they  were  then,  boys,  selected  by 
King  Mtesa  to  read  with  the  first  mission- 
aries, Mackay  and  Smith,  who  did  not  arrive 

there  till  1877  anc*  1878,  roughly  speaking, 

60 


CHIEF  MUKUBNKWATA  AND  HIS  SON,  TWO  OF  MACKAV's  PUPILS. 
THE  REV.   HENRY  WRIGHT  DUTA,   WITH  WIFE  AND  FAMILY. 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  61 


twenty-seven  years  ago.  The  next  picture 
shows  Henry  Wright  Duta,  or,  as  he  is 
generally  known  by  the  natives,  Kitakule, 
another  of  the  first  six,  and  these  two  men 
have  been  constant  readers  ever  since.  Still 
another  of  that  early  band  is  living  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Ngogwe,  some  thirty-four 
miles  from  Mengo.  Since  then  great  changes 
have  passed  over  the  land.  One  now  never 
hears  the  drum  being  beaten  to  call  people 
to  war,  nor  is  the  drum  heard  announcing 
that  a  human  sacrifice  is  about  to  be  offered, 
and  victims  are  being  caught  on  the  roads. 
In  place  of  these  are  the  drums  beaten  every 
morning  calling  people  to  worship  in  the 
House  of  God.  There  are  scattered  through- 
out Uganda  over  1,100  churches,  all  con- 
nected with  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 
In  these  churches  5  2,000  worshippers  assemble 
every  Sunday,  and  probably  half  that  number 
day  by  day  come  for  reading  and  for  instruc- 
tion.   It  is  not  that  the  people  had  no  other 


62   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


interests,  for  up  to  the  year  1898  there 
was  invariably  a  war  going  on  somewhere, 
in  which  the  Baganda  were  implicated. 
People  almost  always  date  their  birthdays 
and  other  special  events  by  saying,  *  It 
happened  in  the  year  of  such  and  such 
a  war.' 

The  cathedral  at  Namirembe  has  been 
erected  entirely  at  the  cost  of  the  natives, 
who  have  already  expended  considerably 
over  ^400  on  it,  and  are  doing  still  more. 
,  When  the  brick  church  was  first  suggested 
the  natives  held  a  council,  and  it  was  de- 
cided how  much  each  member  of  the  Church 
could  afford  to  pay.  All  agreed  that  they 
would  pay  the  share  considered  to  be  their 
due,  and  the  money  was  very  quickly  pro- 
mised, to  the  amount  of  over  £joo.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Baganda  are  poor 
people ;  not  one  of  the  chiefs  could  be  called 
really  wealthy.  This  church  is  built  of  brick, 
and  the  inside  of  the  roof  very  beautifully 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  63 

decorated  with  reeds,  the  sewing  on  of  which 
is  marvellous.  The  roof  is  thatched  with 
grass.  It  was  found  to  be  impossible  to  get 
sufficient  level  timber  for  such  a  big  structure, 
and  so  it  could  not  be  covered  with  corru- 
gated iron,  there  being  no  saw-mills  in  the 
country.  Corrugated  iron  roofing  cannot  be 
used  unless  all  the  timbers  are  perfectly- 
true. 

The  church  will  seat  over  2,000  people ; 
the  men,  according  to  custom,  sitting  down 
one  side,  and  the  women  down  the  other.  It 
is  cruciform  in  shape,  and  is  220  feet 
long  by  50  feet  wide  in  the  nave,  the 
transepts  each  extending  50  feet  beyond 
this.  As  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  old  con- 
dition of  things,  when  3,000  victims  were 
offered  as  sacrifices  to  the  spirit  of  the  king 
in  one  day,  on  the  first  Christmas  Day  after 
the  opening,  the  number  of  people  attending 
divine  worship  in  this  cathedral  was  3,000. 
More   than   500  of  these  could  not  gain 

6 


64  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


admittance,  but  sat  outside  the  open  doors, 
a  common  occurrence  in  Uganda,  the  doors 
and  windows,  on  account  of  the  heat,  never 
being  closed.  This  is  very  convenient  for 
people  with  bad  colds,  who  do  not  wish  to 
disturb  their  fellow-worshippers.  Of  the 
3,000,  some  101 9  stayed  to  Holy  Communion, 
and  the  collection  was  over  £7  sterling. 
Much  of  this  was  undoubtedly  offered  by  the 
chiefs  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
wages  of  a  labouring  man  are  only,  roughly 
speaking,  \\d.  a  day — that  is,  one  hundred 
cowrie  shells,  which  vary  in  value  very 
considerably,  and  were  at  the  time  about 
eighty-eight  to  a  penny. 

Services  had  been  held  in  the  cathedral 
previous  to  this,  the  formal  opening,  when 
Bishop  Tucker  returned  to  Mengo  early  in 
December ;  but  the  first  service  of  all  was 
held  whilst  the  church  was  still  building. 
That  was  on  June  26,  the  proposed  coro- 
nation  day   of    King    Edward   VII.,  for 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  65 


we  did  not  hear  until  eleven  o'clock  on  that 
day  that  the  coronation  had  been  postponed. 
Our  service  was  held  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning  (about  half-past  five,  English 
time),  when  the  church  was  crowded  to 
excess,  an  equal  number  of  worshippers 
being  seated  in  the  churchyard,  having 
failed  to  gain  admittance.  Altogether  there 
were  some  5, 000  people  present,  and  our 
next  illustration  shows  this  congregation 
dispersing. 

Collections  in  these  churches  are  always 
interesting,  and  are  chiefly  taken  up  in  cowrie 
shells,  which,  though  very  bulky,  it  would 
seem  at  present  are  indispensable.  The 
people  willingly  bring  their  offerings,  and  the 
money  collected  is  used  to  pay  native  evange- 
lists and  pastors  (of  whom  there  are  con- 
siderably more  than  2,000)  sent  out  year  by 
year  into  the  country  districts.  No  English 
money  is  used  to  pay  these  men,  nor  is 
any  money  from  the  C.M.S,  ever  used  to 


66  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

pay  for  church  building,  or,  indeed,  for  any- 
Native  Church  expenses.  If  the  Church  in 
Uganda  is  to  be  a  living  Church,  it  must 
realise  that  it  must  pay  all  its  own  expenses, 
that  it  is  the  Church  of  the  country,  and 
not  a  Church  to  be  supported  by  English 
funds. 

Just  a  word  or  two  in  passing  about  the 
cowrie  shell  currency.  There  are  great 
numbers  of  Indian  rupees  and  pice  in  the 
country,  which  are  being  largely  used  ;  but 
the  natives  must  have  something  of  a  very 
small  value.  For  instance,  a  man  can  buy 
sufficient  tobacco  for  the  day  for  one  or  two 
cowrie  shells,  of  which,  say,  twenty-two  go  to 
a  farthing,  or  if  he  wants  a  meal  of  bananas 
or  plantains  he  can  buy  sufficient  for  five 
cowrie  shells.  He  could  not,  therefore, 
afford  to  pay  one  pice  for  these  commodities, 
as  one  pice  equals  a  farthing.  The  Govern- 
ment sacrificed  some  .£7,000  sterling  by 
burning  cowries  to  the  amount,  some  time 


i.  congregation  leaving  mengo  cathedral. 

2.   COUNTING  THE  COLLECTION. 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  67 

ago,  to  try  and  get  rid  of  the  shells,  but  so 
far  they  have  found  it  an  impossibility  to 
prevent  their  use.  The  natives  like  them 
because  they  can  hang  the  strings  round 
their  necks,  or  hang  them  up  in  their  houses. 
Having  no  pockets,  they  find  small  coins  a 
great  difficulty,  and  when  they  get  home, 
where  there  are  no  cupboards,  and  no  means 
of  storing  the  coins,  excepting  on  their  bed- 
steads, they  are  constantly  dropping  the 
coins  about  and  getting  them  lost  amongst 
the  grass  on  the  house  floor,  which  is  often 
very  thick  indeed. 

Although  I  am  not  dealing  at  length 
with  the  difficulties  and  drawbacks  attending 
the  work  of  the  Mission,  it  is  not,  of  course, 
to  be  supposed  that  there  are  none.  Where 
is  the  Church  which  is  not  attended  by  many 
drawbacks  and  many  downfalls,  and  does 
not  own  many  disappointing  members  ?  If 
you  visit  our  prison-yards  in  Uganda  you 
will  find  among  the  prisoners  men  who  call 


68   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

themselves  Christians  ;  but  if  you  visit 
prison -yards  in  England  you  will  find  pre- 
cisely the  same  thing.  People  at  home  are 
very  illogical,  and  when  they  hear  that  a 
native  Christian  has  fallen  into  sin  they  are 
very  ready  to  exclaim,  'What!  a  Christian 
in  Uganda  to  fall  away  and  commit  a  sin 
of  that  nature  ? '  whilst  they  altogether  forget 
that  it  is  not  Christianity  which  keeps  many 
so-called  Christians  in  England  from  falling 
into  sin,  but,  to  a  very  large  extent,  public 
opinion  and  the  fear  of  exposure.  It  would 
seem  that  a  very  much  larger  proportion  of 
people  are  deterred  from  sin  because  of 
their  friends  than  the  number  of  those 
who  can  say,  with  Joseph,  1  How  can  I 
do  this  great  wickedness  and  sin  against 
God?' 

The  difficulty  nowadays  in  Uganda  is 
that  the  railway  has  made  it  possible  for 
a  great  many  adventurers  to  come  up, 
prospectors  and  traders.     Many  of  these 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  69 


are  Indians  and  Goanese,1  and  the  example 
of  some,  I  might  say  many,  is  not  at  all 
conducive  to  steadfastness  and  morality  among 
the  Baganda.  Nor  is  the  example  of  some 
Englishmen  what  it  ought  to  be,  considering 
that  they  come  from  Christian  England. 
The  same  must  be  said  with  regard  to 
some  of  the  Germans.  I  have  heard 
it  observed  by  the  native  Christians  of 
several  Europeans,  4  Why  should  we  be 
compelled  to  have  such  men  sent  up  here? 
We  have  no  men  amongst  ourselves  who 
would  live  worse  lives  than  these  men 
live.' 

These  points  are  of  the  more  importance 
because  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  time 
of  testing  and  trial.  The  fact  that  the 
country    has    been    re-divided   under  the 

1  Goa  is  a  Portuguese  colony  on  the  west  coast  of  India, 
some  distance  north  of  Bombay,  and  the  Portuguese,  having 
intermarried  with  Indians,  have  produced  a  race  of  half- 
castes,  who  are  usually  called  Goanese.  Many  of  them 
are  professing  Roman  Catholics. 


70  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

terms  of  the  new  treaty  has  greatly  upset 
all  our  congregations.  Chiefs  and  their 
followers  having  been  removed  en  masse 
to  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  now 
a  man  no  longer  becomes  a  Christian 
because  his  chief  is  a  Christian,  for  he 
need  no  longer  remain  the  servant  of  a 
chief  unless  he  wishes  to  do  so,  and  there 
is  not  nearly  so  much  to  be  looked  for  in 
the  way  of  position  as  there  used  to  be 
when  a  man  became  a  Christian.  The 
young  Church  of  Uganda,  started  only 
twenty-nine  years  ago,  needs  very  much 
prayer  at  the  present  time,  that  it  may 
not  fall  away  from  its  first  love. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  prac- 
tically only  since  1890  that  any  settled 
work  has  been  done ;  for  in  all  the  early 
part  of  Mwanga's  reign  it  was  impossible 
to  tell  for  two  days  at  a  time  what  attitude 
he  would  adopt  towards  the  Church,  and 
I  need  not  say  that  his  attitude  was  chiefly 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  71 


that  of  a  hinderer.  One  of  the  most  pleasing 
features  of  the  work  in  Uganda  now  is 
the  great  desire  the  people  are  showing 
for  furthur  education.  For  a  long  time 
the  Christian  natives  have  felt  that  there 
was  something  for  them  beyond  what  they 
had  already  learned,  and,  over  and  over 
again,  leading  men  such  as  Henry  Wright 
Duta  and  Bartolomayo  Musoke  had  begged 
Bishop  Tucker  and  Archdeacon  Walker, 
the  secretary  of  the  Mission,  and  others 
on  the  staff  to  commence  schools  other 
than  those  for  Scripture  alone.  The  limited 
staff  at  the  disposal  of  the  Bishop  did 
not  allow  of  this  until  after  the  year  1897. 
Early  in  the  year  1898  schools  were  started 
in  Mengo  and  one  or  two  other  centres 
on  a  very  small  scale,  and  these  have 
been  since  developed.  The  natives  come 
for  instruction,  not  because  they  are  com- 
pelled to  do  so,  but  because  they  enjoy 
coming,  and   no   severer   punishment  can 


72   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


be  inflicted  on  the  older  scholars  than  to 
forbid  them  coming  to  school  for  a  week 
or  two,  until  they  learn  better  behaviour ; 
though  cases  of  insubordination  are  very- 
rare. 


CHAPTER  V 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO 

I propose  to  speak  more  especially  of 
the  school  in  Mengo,  with  which  we 
have  had  most  to  do.  One  of  our 
pictures  shows  an  infants'  class  learning  to 
read  the  alphabet.  It  sounds  to  a  new- 
comer rather  a  noisy  performance  to  have 
one  pupil  calling  out  the  name  of  a  letter, 
and  all  the  class  repeating  it  after  him, 
but  it  is  not  disturbing  to  the  native  ear. 
Many  of  our  children  can  read  extremely 
well  by  the  time  they  are  six  or  seven 
years  of  age,  and  it  is  a  curious  thing 
that  most  children  can  read  with  the  book 
turned  upside  down  or   sideways,  just  as 

73 


74   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


well  as  if  they  were  reading  properly.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  in  country  districts, 
where  most  of  the  children  reside  for  at 
least  a  part  of  the  year,  reading  is  usually 
taught  from  the  small  reading-book  called 
the  Mateka,  and,  as  the  children  are  very 
poor,  only  the  teacher  possesses  a  copy. 
This  he  holds  for  his  own  convenience 
the  right  way  up,  but  as  his  pupils  sit 
round  him  in  a  semicircle  they  look  on 
the  book  inverted  or  sideways,  with  the 
result  that  they  learn  to  read  in  these 
ways  as  they  change  their  position  day 
by  day,  and  later  on,  when  they  possess 
a  book  of  their  own,  they  hold  it  in  the 
proper  way. 

This  habit  is  often  a  great  convenience, 
for,  in  church,  if  a  man  has  not  a  hymn- 
book,  but  the  worshipper  standing  behind 
him  has  one,  he  simply  turns  right  round, 
looks  the  man  behind  him  in  the  face, 
deciphers  his  hymn-book  upside-down,  and 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  75 

sings  the  hymn.  It  saves  some  trouble 
in  passing  books  about. 

As  soon  as  children  can  read  they  are 
taught  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments,  a  number 
of  Gospel  texts,  and  then  they  are  taken 
on  to  St.  Matthew's  and  St.  John's  Gospels. 
They  next  have  to  learn  a  very  long 
catechism,  and  must  pass  a  stiff  examination 
in  all  these  subjects  before  they  can  be 
baptized,  unless,  of  course,  they  are  the 
children  of  Christian  parents,  and  so  baptized 
in  infancy ;  but  even  then,  before  they  can 
be  confirmed  they  must  know  the  subjects 
mentioned,  with  the  addition  of  the  Gospel 
of  Luke  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
In  all  our  schools  our  first  object  is,  of 
course,  being  missionaries,  to  give  the 
children  a  really  good,  Scriptural  education. 
From  8  to  9.30  a.m.  the  teaching  is  wholly 
Biblical,  commencing  with  Scriptural  repeti- 
tion, followed  by  an  address  to  the  school 


76   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


on  one  of  a  series  of  topics.  Then  comes 
the  breaking  up  into  small  classes  for  teach- 
ing, reading,  and  for  Scriptural  exposition. 
The  teaching  of  reading  is  always  carried  on 
in  the  Bible  only.  Our  illustration  shows 
the  head  Bible  class  in  the  boys'  school 
at  Mengo,  from  which  class  teachers  are 
taken  for  all  the  junior  classes,  as  only  one 
European  is  in  charge  of  the  school,  and 
the  number  of  boys  for  the  Scriptural  part 
averages  two  hundred. 

Taking  a  Bible  class  in  Uganda  is  very 
interesting  work,  for  one  always  feels  that 
the  pupils  are  there,  not  merely  as  readers, 
but  as  students.  I  think  the  best  way  of 
showing  the  intelligence  of  the  pupils  is 
to  give  in  detail  a  few  of  the  questions  which 
have  been  asked  by  members  of  this  class. 

A  small  boy  of  eleven,  when  we  were 
reading  the  story  of  the  Flood,  asked,  '  Sir, 
it  says  here  that  Noah  took  two  animals  of 
each  kind  into  the  ark,  and  that  he  brought 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  77 

them  out  again,  and  that  of  them  was  the 
whole  earth  overspread.  It  says  again  that 
he  took  food  for  all  animals ;  now,  if  he  only 
took  two  in,  and  he  brought  two  out,  not 
counting  the  sacred  animals,  on  what  did  he 
feed  lions  and  leopards  and  dogs,  which  only 
eat  flesh  ?  '  The  one  reply  to  such  a  ques- 
tion was,  '  We  cannot  tell ;  but  it  says  that 
Noah  took  food  for  all  the  animals,  hence  we 
must  assume  that  he  took  food  suited  to  each 
kind  of  animal.' 

They  not  only  want  to  know  such  things 
as  these,  but  they  want  to  know  a  great 
many  details  which  cannot  always  be 
supplied.  For  instance,  one  boy  asked, 
'  Who  took  the  seven  baskets  of  food  left 
over  after  the  miracle  of  feeding  the  five 
thousand  on  the  mountain  ?  Did  the  people, 
or  did  the  disciples  ?  '  And  again,  '  What 
was  the  boy's  name  out  of  whom  the  dis- 
ciples could  not  cast  out  the  devil  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  after  the  Transfiguration  ? ' 


78   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

Again,  a  teacher  was  asked,  '  What  kind  of 
oil  did  the  Good  Samaritan  put  on  the  man's 
wounds?'  In  another  case,  when  they 
got  to  the  passage,  'As  He  spake  by  the 
mouth  of  His  holy  prophets,  which  have 
been  since  the  world  began,'  and  it  was 
mentioned  that  Adam  was  really  the  first 
prophet,  the  pupil  replied,  '  Well,  I  agree 
to  that,  but  it  puzzles  me  to  understand  who 
he  prophesied  to  before  Eve  was  created, 
and  yet  it  says,  "  since  the  world  began." ' 

If  a  teacher  goes  unprepared  to  a  class  in 
Uganda,  he  will  probably  regret  it  before 
he  is  through  his  lesson,  for  the  natives  do 
not  believe  in  passing  over  a  passage  because 
it  is  difficult.  They  want  to  know  all  that 
it  is  possible  to  find  out  about  the  Word  of 
God,  and  if  at  times  the  teacher  cannot 
answer  the  question,  the  interrogator  usually 
says,  '  Well,  never  mind  now  ;  go  on  with 
the  lesson,  and  when  you  have  finished  I 
will  go  home  with  you,  and  perhaps  you 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  79 


will  look  it  up  in  your  books  and  tell  me 
what  they  say  about  it.'  Even  if  they  do 
not  say  this,  it  usually  happens  that  you 
will  find  the  boy  sitting  outside  the  door 
shortly  after  you  reach  home,  and  on  in- 
quiring as  to  his  business,  he  says,  '  I  am 
just  come  down  to  ask  if  you  will  please 
explain  from  your  books  what  I  asked  you 
about  in  school.' 

The  intelligence  of  the  Baganda  is  quite 
equal  to  that  of  Englishmen  ;  it  is  only  a 
question  of  training.  They  learn  to  write 
in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time,  whilst 
they  stick  at  and  master  arithmetic  in  a  way 
that  many  Englishmen  would  be  pleased 
to  copy.  From  9.30  to  10.30  we  have, 
in  Mengo  Boys'  School,  a  very  large  increase 
in  our  attendance,  youths  and  men  from 
other  Bible  classes  swelling  our  number  to 
450,  500,  540.  The  daily  average  is  450 
from  Tuesday  to  Friday,  on  Saturday  there 
are  not  so  many.     Some  thousands  have 

7 


8o   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


been  taught  writing  and  arithmetic  at  this 
school. 

Arithmetic  we  take  as  far  as  vulgar  frac- 
tions and  percentages,  which  will  enable  the 
lads  who  desire  to  become  Government 
clerks  to  transfer  Indian  coinage  into  sterling, 
cowrie  shells  into  Indian  currency,  and  so  on. 
It  proves  a  source  of  astonishment  to  many 
people  to  see  how  smart  the  boys  are  in 
working  out  very  difficult  examples  after 
very  short  periods  of  teaching,  many  lads 
in  two  years'  time  having  gone  from  simple 
addition  to  very  difficult  vulgar  fractions. 

English  is  taught  to  boys  specially  selected 
by  the  Church  Council  as  likely  to  benefit 
by  it  and  be  a  credit  to  the  Mission.  We  do 
not  want  to  teach  English  to  boys  who 
are  only  Christians  in  name.  They  might 
go  off  as  servants  to  Government  men, 
saying  that  they  know  English,  and  have  been 
taught  in  C.M.S.  mission  schools,  inferring 
thereby  that  they  are  Christians  and  honest, 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  81 


and  yet  proving  by  their  lives  that  they  are 
neither  Christians  nor  honest,  and  thus  be- 
coming a  reproach  to  the  Mission.  We  do 
not  want  to  Anglicise  the  people  at  all,  but  we 
believe  it  is  necessary  to  teach  a  number  of 
them  English  ;  indeed,  the  Mission  has  been 
specially  requested  by  the  Administration 
to  teach  English  in  their  schools.  There 
is  work  for  this  people.  God  has  some 
special  purpose  in  view  in  having  raised  up 
the  Baganda  in  the  middle  of  Africa  to  take 
such  an  interest  in  the  Gospel.  It  would 
seem  that  this  object  is,  that  they  should 
become  missionaries  to  all  the  surrounding 
nations. 

This,  indeed,  the  Baganda  are  quite  willing 
to  be,  and  have  already  been  so  to  a  limited 
extent ;  but  before  they  can  rule  and  govern 
their  own  Church,  and  learn  how  to  make  it 
self-supporting,  self-governing,  and  self-ex- 
tending, there  must  be  some  well-educated 
men  amongst  them.    It  is  neither  necessary 


82   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


nor  advisable  that  all  the  literature  they 
ought  to  have  access  to  should  be  translated 
into  their  own  language,  and  the  simpler  plan 
appears  to  be  to  teach  a  number  of  them 
English,  and  let  them  have  access  to  our 
stores  of  literature.  Then,  again,  there  is 
every  reason  why  those  books  which  need 
translating  into  Luganda  should  be  done  by 
the  natives  ;  for  no  matter  how  good  an 
Englishman  may  be  at  the  language,  he  can 
never  hope  to  attain  to  such  proficiency  in 
idiom  as  a  native.  It  is  always  difficult  for 
an  Englishman  to  think  as  a  native  thinks, 
and  to  look  at  things  from  the  same  stand- 
point. The  whole  up-bringing  of  the  white 
man  is  against  it.  Again,  before  they  can 
become  missionaries,  natives  must  know 
something  of  the  formation  of  a  language,  as 
it  would  be  necessary  in  many  of  the  sur- 
rounding countries  to  reduce  the  languages 
to  writing.  Many  of  the  languages  spoken 
near   the  Nile   are  entirely  different  from 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  83 


Luganda  in  formation,  not  being  Bantu 
languages  at  all ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  show 
the  Baganda  that  all  languages  are  not 
founded  on  the  same  principles  as  their  own. 

Afternoons  in  school  have  been  devoted 
chiefly  to  elder  scholars  and  intending  pupil 
teachers,  and  a  variety  of  subjects  have  been 
taught — Scriptural  and  general  knowledge, 
including  a  little  geography,  astronomy, 
physiology,  anatomy,  and  so  on — all  useful 
in  expanding  the  native  mind.  At  home,  in 
the  evenings  after  school,  we  have  had  pupil 
teachers,  and  given  short  Bible  expositions, 
with  very  profitable  results. 

It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  missionaries  to 
receive  visits  from  their  young  pupils,  and  to 
receive  trifling  presents  of  a  few  coffee  beans, 
or  a  few  eggs,  or  a  fowl,  not  for  the  value 
of  the  things  received,  but  as  an  assurance 
that  the  pupils  have  regard  for  them,  and 
that  the  affections  are  being  won.  The 
Baganda  are  naturally  unselfish,  and  many 


84  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


instances  of  this  are  afforded.  When 
children  come  to  the  house  they  do  not 
care  for  sweets,  but  if  you  will  give  them 
a  little  salt  in  the  palm  of  their  hand  they 
thoroughly  enjoy  eating  it.  Yet  never 
will  you  see  one  of  a  group  eat  all  his 
salt.  He  invariably  passes  it  round,  for  all 
his  companions  to  have  a  taste  with  him. 
On  one  occasion  a  child  who  had  received 
a  slate  pencil  in  response  to  his  request, 
made  the  remark,  '  Oh  !  I  did  not  think 
you  would  give  me  a  whole  one  ;  but,  now 
you  have,  I  can  break  it  up  into  five  pieces 
and  give  each  of  my  little  friends  here  a 
piece,'  which  he  immediately  did. 

The  next  illustrations  will  show  what  a 
variety  of  scholars  we  have  to  deal  with. 
The  boys  at  the  back,  though  tall,  are 
not  so  old  as  might  be  imagined.  In 
tropical  countries  everything  grows  quickly, 
and  boys  of  seventeen  are  practically  men. 
Many  of  these  older  ones  have  been  coming 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  85 

to  school  a  far  shorter  time  than  the 
younger  ones,  and,  in  many  cases,  know 
less.  They  are  being  trained,  some  as 
teachers,  some  as  clerks,  or  store-keepers, 
for  the  most  part  for  chiefs,  but  some  few- 
intend  to  try  for  situations  under  the  Ad- 
ministration. Some  are  drafted  oft"  to  our 
Industrial  Mission,  and  are  taught  trades. 
Many  of  them,  some  only  10  or  12  years 
of  age,  hold  important  chieftainships,  and 
will  be  great  men  in  the  country  in  a  few 
years'  time.  For  them  especially  we  would 
ask  much  prayer,  that  they  may  learn  to 
rule  their  people  in  a  Christ-like  way. 

The  old  man  of  sixty  and  the  young 
boy  of  three  both  began  to  read  about  the 
same  time,  though  the  old  man  has  made 
far  quicker  progress  than  the  child.  One 
of  the  most  pleasing  features  of  work  in 
Uganda  is  to  see  the  way  each  one  wants 
to  hand  on  to  some  other  what  he  himself 
has  been  taught.    It  is  probable  that,  to 


86   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

some  extent,  this  is  the  outcome  of  vanity, 
and  a  desire  to  show  off;  but  it  is  to  a 
far  greater  extent,  in  many  cases,  a  desire 
to  do  something  to  show  the  love  they 
have  for  their  Saviour,  when  once  they 
realise  His  love  for  them. 

When  Christ  restored  sight  to  the  blind 
and  performed  other  miracles,  we  are  told 
that  those  receiving  benefit  desired  to  follow 
Him  and  to  serve  Him  ;  and  this  is  so  in 
Uganda.  When  a  Buganda  has  received 
his  sight  and  come  out  of  darkness  into 
light,  as  a  rule,  he  desires  to  show  his 
faith  by  his  works.  This  has  been  especially 
marked  in  the  way  in  which  our  attendance 
has  increased  in  the  school.  In  the  early 
days  we  noticed  an  increase  of  more  than 
a  hundred  after  one  Christmas  holiday, 
and  we  found  that  many  pupils  had  spent 
most  of  their  holidays  in  telling  others  of 
what  they  had  learned,  with  the  result 
that  their  hearers  were  induced  to  come  to 


AT  SCHOOL  AT  MENGO  87 


school  with  them  on  their  return.  A  most 
pleasing  sight  it  was,  in  two  instances,  to 
see  fathers  sitting  in  a  class  being  taught 
writing  and  arithmetic  by  their  own  sons, 
aged  respectively  twelve  and  seventeen,  the 
fathers  not  considering  it  at  all  infra  dig. 
A  boy  teaching  an  old  man  to  read,  and 
explaining  to  him  difficult  passages  in  the 
Gospel,  is  always  a  pleasing  picture,  and 
one  always  feels  full  of  joy  to  see  the  lads 
so  willing  to  pass  on  to  others  the  teaching 
one  has  been  privileged  to  impart  to  them. 


CHAPTER  VI 
TRAVELLING   IN  UGANDA 

Whilst  it  is  not  possible  to  describe  in 
detail  the  work  throughout  the 
country,  I  can  at  least  give  an  outline  of 
the  daily  work  of  missionaries. 

The  country  could  not  be  called  tropical 
as  a  whole,  but  scenery  in  most  of  the  valleys 
is  certainly  so,  as  there  is  a  plentiful  supply 
of  moisture  and  constant  heat.  Aerial  loco- 
motion would  be  a  great  boon  to  Uganda, 
for  roads  are  a  difficulty.  To  main  centres 
there  are,  indeed,  roads,  the  bridges  of  which 
are  usually  kept  in  repair  ;  but  most  of  our 
missionaries  must  travel  a  great  deal  to  get 
to  country  churches  in  villages,  which  often 
lie  considerably  off  the  beaten  track. 

88 


TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA  89 

Although  it  is  probably  a  fact  that  the 
country  of  Uganda  is  almost  on  a  dead  level,  it 
is,  nevertheless,  very  hilly,  a  good  proportion 
of  its  surface  being  covered  with  short  lumpy 
hills,  and  the  valleys  between  these  are 
almost  invariably  swamps  or  rivers.  The 
rivers  usually  become  swamps  because  the 
incline  of  the  land  is  so  gradual  that  the  water 
cannot  flow  away  quickly  enough,  and  often 
spreads  over  a  large  area. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  bridge  over  these 
shallow  rivers,  excepting  in  the  stronger  part 
of  the  stream.  The  usual  plan  in  making 
a  bridge  is  to  beat  down  the  grass  and  reeds, 
or  the  papyrus  stems,  and  to  throw  on  a 
lot  of  loose  earth,  which  is  kept  in  position 
by  a  double  reed  wall,  very  fragile  indeed, 
and  easily  washed  away  by  one  severe 
storm.  The  stronger  part  of  the  stream, 
usually  not  more  than  a  few  feet  in  width, 
is  bridged  over  with  the  stems  of  palms, 
but  when  the  river  rises,  after  a  heavy  fall 


9o   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


of  rain,  these  palm  poles  are  often  washed 
away,  and  it  becomes  a  somewhat  difficult 
matter  to  cross.  The  larger  rivers  present 
a  greater  difficulty,  as  the  natives  have,  so 
far,  learnt  nothing  of  permanent  bridging. 
Their  usual  plan  is  to  beat  down  the  stem 
of  the  papyrus,  which  floats  on  the  top  of 
the  water,  the  roots  growing  together  as 
if  locked,  and  over  these  to  throw  a  few 
sticks  or  twigs,  making  a  floating  bridge,  not 
too  safe,  but  affording  a  means  of  crossing. 

The  animals,  birds,  insects,  and  reptiles 
to  be  found  in  the  streams  and  forests  supply 
any  amount  of  material  for  any  number  of 
entomologists,  zoologists,  ornithologists,  and 
bacteriologists. 

There  are  snakes  of  every  description ; 
many  of  them  non-poisonous,  and  all  anxious 
to  get  out  of  the  way  of  human  beings.  But 
the  snakes  make  their  way  into  houses,  gener- 
ally in  search  of  rats  and  lizards,  upon  which 
they  feed,  and  one  does  not  feel  too  comfort- 


TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA  91 


able,  when,  as  in  the  case  of  a  missionary,  a 
snake  lives  in  a  hole  under  his  writing-table. 
He  knew  it  must  be  there,  though  never  saw 
it.  The  only  proof  was,  that  annually  the 
snake  slipped  out  of  its  skin  and  left  the 
discarded  skin  in  the  room,  and  this  happened 
year  after  year. 

The  python  is  known  in  Uganda,  so,  too, 
is  a  snake  in  the  north,  of  which  the  natives 
tell  us,  but  which  appears,  so  far,  to  be 
unknown  to  zoologists.  The  native  story 
is,  that  it  does  not  crawl  along  the  ground  ; 
that  it  is  much  longer  than  a  python,  and 
rears  itself  up  when  walking  to  a  height  of 
eight  or  ten  feet  ;  that  it  makes  a  great  noise 
as  it  pushes  its  way  through  the  grass  ;  that 
it  does  not  consume  its  victims  as  the  python, 
but  chews  the  flesh,  as  a  dog  does.  We 
have  only  native  evidence  for  this. 

Mice  and  small  rats  are  innumerable  ;  as 
are  lizards.  They  infest  houses  of  natives 
and  Europeans  alike.    The  presence  of  so 


92   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


many  rats,  which  can  only  be  kept  down 
by  a  cat  or  by  having  snakes  on  the  premises 
— the  latter  not  a  pleasant  precaution — is 
sometimes  a  source  of  amusement  as  well 
as  annoyance.  On  one  occasion  a  missionary, 
travelling  in  a  recently  opened-up  district 
and  sleeping  in  a  temporary  house,  built  of 
grass  and  reeds,  according  to  custom  put 
his  false  teeth  on  a  box  at  the  side  of  his 
bed.  When  he  awoke  in  the  morning  he 
looked  for  his  teeth,  but  they  were 
not  to  be  found.  After  hunting  all  over 
the  premises  for  nearly  an  hour,  he  at  last 
discovered  them  at  the  top  of  a  rat-hole, 
down  which  they  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  dragged,  but  that  the  hole  was  too 
small  to  admit  the  palate.  The  rats  evidently 
thought  that  they  had  found  a  new  kind  of 
food. 

The  number  of  jumping  creatures  it  is 
impossible  to  count.  They  vary  in  size 
from  the  jigger,  smaller  than  a  flea,  up  to 


TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA  93 


a  locust.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  attempt 
to  keep  the  house  free  from  them,  and  one 
hears  a  constant  flip,  flip,  as  they  jump  about 
in  the  room.  There  are  numbers  of  spiders, 
some  of  which  appear  to  have  no  body  at 
all,  and  others  with  big  bodies  and  big  eyes, 
quite  different  from  anything  one  has  ever 
seen  in  England.  There  are  beetles  of 
every  size  imaginable,  from  the  smallest 
ladybird  to  beetles  as  large  as  ones  fist. 

The  larger  animals  dangerous  to  life,  lions 
and  leopards,  are  very  plentiful  in  most  parts, 
but  are  not  often  found  near  to  the  main 
centres.  Down  in  the  south,  in  the  country 
of  Ankole,  lions  abound.  The  people  have 
great  herds  of  cattle,  and  the  lions  come 
round  almost  every  night  and  try  to  steal 
them.  The  natives  are  not  at  all  afraid  of 
these  beasts,  and  rarely  attempt  to  spear 
them  or  to  fire  a  gun.  If  they  did,  and  they 
wounded  the  lion,  they  would  probably  get 
the  worst  of  the  fight.    They  have  found 


94  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

by  experience  that  the  simpler  plan  is  to 
hit  the  lion  a  blow  with  a  stick,  of  which 
the  king  of  beasts  is  just  as  much  afraid  as 
is  a  terrier  dog,  and  he  runs  away  immediately 
with  his  tail  between  his  legs.  The  lion 
is  by  no  means  the  brave  animal  he  is  usually 
supposed  to  be,  though  dangerous  enough 
when  cornered  or  wounded  and  righting 
for  his  life. 

It  may  be  generally  stated  as  a  fact  that 
one  never  need  be  afraid  of  animals  in  the 
ordinary  way  of  travel.  If  you  will  let  them 
alone,  they  are  only  too  glad  to  let  you 
alone,  and  to  rush  out  of  your  way  as  fast 
as  possible.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  catch 
sight  of  animals  at  all,  except  at  a  distance. 
Elephants,  though  not  by  any  means  scarce, 
can  rarely  be  seen,  though  you  can  follow 
their  path,  which  is  very  evident  when  newly 
made,  as  they  trample  down  a  wide  space 
through  the  long  grass.  Natives  have  to 
be   extremely   careful    in    walking  where 


TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA  95 

elephants  have  been,  for  their  spoor  is  full 
of  thorns,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  food 
they  eat,  they  being  specially  fond  of  mimosa 
and  thorn  trees,  and  the  natives  constantly 
get  these  thorns  in  their  feet.  It  is  rarely 
necessary  for  missionaries  to  carry  a  gun, 
unless  they  wish  to  shoot  birds  for  food ; 
for  protection,  it  is  not  necessary  in  most 
parts  of  Uganda,  though  some  people  think 
it  is  probably  an  advantage  in  many  of  the 
outlying  districts. 

The  timber  in  many  of  the  forests  is 
varied,  and  often  of  very  good  and  useful 
quality.  Some  trees  attain  an  enormous  size, 
and  produce  fine  planks.  The  difficulty  has 
been  always,  that  there  were  no  means  of 
hauling  logs  any  distance  from  the  forests. 
Planks  had  to  be  hewn  from  the  tree  in 
the  forest,  and  then  conveyed  by  porters 
to  their  destination  ;  but  saw-mills  are  now 
being  taken  up.  Trees  will  be  cut  down 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  lake,  and  floated  on 

8 


96   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


the  lake  to  the  saw-mill,  so  that  we  may 
hope  before  very  long  to  have  a  plentiful 
supply  of  wood.  It  is  an  interesting  fact 
that  the  railway  to  Uganda  has  been  unable 
to  use  wooden  sleepers,  because  of  the 
voracity  of  the  white  ants.  Iron  sleepers 
from  England  are  at  present  in  use.  The 
timber  most  commonly  employed  resembles 
box,  beech,  and  similar  hard  woods.  No 
doubt  there  are  many  soft  woods,  such 
as  pine,  but  we  have  not  seen  these  much 
in  use.  The  white  ants  have  a  great  fancy 
for  all  sorts  of  non-resinous  timber. 

Travelling  is  usually  accomplished  on 
foot,  though  cycles  are  a  help  when  the 
country  is  anything  like  level.  Horses, 
mules,  and  donkeys  do  not  appear  to  be 
able  to  live  very  long.  In  most  parts  of 
Uganda  cattle  do  not  thrive,  though  they 
do  fairly  well ;  but  draught  animals  appear 
to  suffer  from  want  of  good  fodder,  and 
in  many  cases   have  died  from  what  the 


TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA  97 


natives  say  is  snake-bite.  One  thing  is 
certain — that  they  mostly  die  within  a  very 
few  years  of  their  arrival  in  the  country, 
and  the  cause  has  not  yet  been  discovered. 

Cycling  has  many  difficulties,  not  only 
the  hills,  but  the  narrow  paths  with  grass 
from  one  foot  to  ten  or  twelve  feet  high, 
the  higher  grass  or  reeds  at  times  almost 
shutting  out  the  sunlight,  and,  in  the  narrow 
paths,  holes  and  roots  prove  a  source  of 
great  annoyance  and  danger.  It  is  not 
comfortable  when  the  brake  gives  way, 
or  when  one  loses  control  of  the  pedals, 
in  descending  one  of  the  numerous  hills ; 
for,  as  already  described,  each  valley  is 
a  swamp  or  a  river,  and,  the  bridge  being 
exceedingly  narrow  and  very  difficult  to 
cross,  riding  becomes  a  real  source  of  danger. 
It  is  a  common  experience  to  find  the  path 
over  the  bridge  much  of  the  same  formation 
as  the  back  of  a  cow.  When  the  path 
is  at  all  damp,  it  is  very  easy  to  skid  on 


98   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


the  sloping  sides  and  be  precipitated  with 
the  bicycle,  if  not  into  the  river,  into  the 
reeds  and  rushes  and  mud,  the  depth  of 
which  is  very  uncertain. 

When  making  up  a  bridge  the  natives 
usually  take  out  the  earth  from  the  bank 
close  to  the  side  of  the  road,  and  these 
pits  cannot  be  seen  when  the  grass  begins 
to  grow  again.  One  traveller,  losing  control 
of  his  machine  descending  the  hill,  thought 
the  best  plan  to  save  his  neck  was  to  turn 
aside  into  the  long  grass  ;  but,  to  his  dismay, 
he  rode  into  one  of  these  pits.  It  was 
deep,  but  narrow.  The  front  wheel  of 
his  bicycle  struck  the  far  side,  and  the 
rear  wheel  remained  on  the  near  side,  the 
weight  of  the  rider  breaking  the  frame 
of  the  bicycle  clean  in  two,  and  the  rider 
falling  between  the  two  wheels  into  the 
bottom  of  the  hole.  A  severe  shaking 
was  the  only  result  to  him,  but  not  to 
his  bicycle. 


TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA  99 

It  is  a  common  thing  for  a  bridge  to 
be  washed  away  in  the  course  of  one 
storm  ;  and  one  rider  coming  in  to  Mengo 
in  the  afternoon  and  returning  next  morning 
to  his  station,  quite  forgot  that  there  had 
been  a  severe  storm  during  the  night. 
Crossing  a  bridge  which  was  perfect  the 
previous  day,  he  suddenly  found  himself 
floundering  in  six  feet  of  water,  having 
ridden  straight  into  the  place  where  the 
bridge  should  have  been.  The  difficulty 
is  increased  when  there  is  neither  bridge 
nor  ferry  across  the  swamps,  as  is  often 
the  case  in  outlying  districts.  Then  one 
has  recourse  to  human  porterage. 

It  is  not  a  costly  luxury  to  be  carried  on 
a  man's  shoulders  ;  for  the  man  only  charges 
about  eighteen  pence  a  week  to  accompany 
you  and  carry  you  over  swamps,  and  out  of 
the  eighteen  pence  he  finds  his  own  food. 
Such  porterage  is  a  matter  of  necessity. 
Nothing  is  more  dangerous  than  to  plunge 


ioo   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


into  a  swamp  or  a  river  when  wet  with 
perspiration  after  a  long  walk  or  ride,  and 
then  to  remain,  as  must  be  the  case,  for 
a  considerable  time  in  damp  clothes.  It 
will  probably  mean  a  severe  attack  of  fever, 
if  not  loss  of  life.  It  is  a  good  thing  to 
be  small  in  Africa,  a  small  person  having 
much  less  difficulty  in  getting  carried  ;  but 
even  small  ones  do  not  experience  com- 
fortable feelings  when  the  water  reaches 
up  to  the  waist  or  armpits  of  the  carrier, 
and  one  knows  that  one  false  step  would 
pitch  you  into  the  evil-smelling,  black, 
muddy  waters.  It  is  much  more  difficult 
for  a  heavy  person,  and  the  simpler  plan 
for  such  is  to  get  three  men  to  carry  him 
across,  the  leader  taking  charge  of  the 
feet  on  his  shoulders,  and  the  two  rear 
porters  supporting  the  weight  of  the  body, 
an  arm  being  placed  round  each  of  their 
necks.  Where  the  water  is  deep  the  ex- 
tremities remain  dry,  but  not  always  the 


TRAVELLING  IN  UGANDA  101 


middle  garments,  as  it  is  very  difficult  to 
keep  the  body  rigid  during  a  lengthy 
passage. 

Porters  can  rarely  do  more  than  fifteen 
miles  a  day,  unless  the  journey  be  only 
for  a  day  or  two.  Arrived  in  camp,  they 
have  to  fetch  water,  collect  firewood,  and 
often  go  as  much  as  two  or  three  miles  to 
buy  their  own  food.  It  is  very  inadvisable 
to  have  to  do  these  things  after  dark — and 
darkness  always  comes  on  at  6*30,  after 
half  an  hour's  twilight.  These  men  carry 
65  lb.  quite  easily,  and  many  of  them  are 
so  strong  that  they  can  go  ten  or  fifteen 
miles  without  a  rest.  There  are  numbers 
of  men  in  the  country  who  can  carry  100 
to  120  lb.  on  their  heads  for  miles;  but 
the  Government  fixed  limit  is  65  lb. 

Young  travellers  should  never  leave  the 
making  up  of  their  provision  boxes  to  a 
native  boy  without  supervision.  It  is  very 
inconvenient  to  find  at  the  first  camp  that 


io2   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


matches  or  soap  or  tea  or  salt  have  been 
forgotten.  One  does  not  realise  what  a 
necessity  such  small  articles  are  until  it  is 
impossible  to  get  them.  I  have  known  at 
least  one  man  who  had  to  go  supperless  to 
bed,  and  a  whole  camp  had  to  be  pitched  in 
the  dark,  because  he  did  not  know  in  which 
box  his  matches  were,  and  could  not  find 
them  in  the  dark.  The  nearest  dwelling 
was  more  than  two  miles  away,  and  it  was 
raining  very  heavily.  These  are  not  hard- 
ships of  travelling  in  Africa ;  they  are 
the  fruits  of  carelessness. 


I.  THE  R HADING  ROOM  OF  A  VILLAGE  CHURCH. 
2.    A  COUNTRY  CHURCH,  NAKANYUNYL 


CHAPTER  VII 
CHURCHES  AND  TEACHERS 

Missionaries  travel  firstly  to  open  up 
new  ground,  and  secondly  to  visit 
country  Churches  and  congregations  and 
see  what  work  is  being  done.  Our  picture 
shows  a  church  in  a  little  village,  where 
the  work  has  just  commenced,  and  is  in 
charge  of  a  native  evangelist  sent  out  by 
the  Church  Council.  This  is  a  little 
temporary  hut  built  by  the  natives,  in 
which  they  can  learn  to  read ;  but  the 
churches  do  not  long  remain  of  such  a 
meagre  character  as  this.  As  the  work 
extends,  so  the  churches  are  improved,  and 
our  next  illustration  will  show  a  church  in 
a  well-worked  district.    These  buildings  are 

103 


io4  UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


put  up  by  the  natives  at  their  own  cost, 
and  with  their  own  labour,  the  architect,  for  a 
building  of  this  size,  usually  being  a  European. 
The  interiors  are  often  very  beautiful,  as 
will  be  seen  in  the  picture  of  the  church 
at  Mitiana.  The  architect  of  this  was  the 
Rev.  H.  W.  Tegart,  a  European  missionary  ; 
and  very  proud  the  natives  are  that  they 
are  taught  to  build  such  handsome  places. 
The  poles  are  covered  with  reeds,  light 
yellow  in  appearance ;  the  black  marks  are 
the  sewing  with  the  bark  of  a  small  shrub, 
which  is  very  strong  ;  with  it  each  reed  is 
individually  sewn  on. 

At  these  places  the  work  is  carried  on 
for  the  most  part  by  natives,  supervised 
by  one  European,  sometimes  with  his 
wife,  sometimes  with  two  lady  missionaries 
attached  to  the  station,  as  in  the  case  of 
Ngogwe,  Ndege,  Iganga ;  but  more  often 
Europeans  do  not  number  more  than 
two. 


THE  INTERIOR  OF  MITIANA  CHURCH. 


CHURCHES  AND  TEACHERS  105 

The  native  teachers  attached  to  these 
places  are  sent  out  in  the  first  instance  by 
the  country  Church,  and  paid  from  its  funds  ; 
after  which,  if  found  suitable,  they  go  into 
Mengo  for  further  training,  and  are  then 
drafted  off  into  various  districts.  Very  faith- 
ful many  of  them  are.  From  amongst  the 
more  faithful  are  selected,  eventually,  native 
pastors,  of  whom  there  are  now  nearly  thirty  ; 
but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  native 
ministry  has  any  men  who  could  rank  in 
education  with  men  in  England.  The  early 
work  increased  so  rapidly,  that  Europeans 
were  not  nearly  numerous  enough  to  man 
all  the  stations,  and  natives  had  to  be  or- 
dained to  take  charge  of  districts.  They  are 
very  faithful  men,  so  far  as  their  light  allows. 
They  do  not  work  for  any  advantage  they 
gain  in  pay  over  the  ordinary  labourer  ;  for 
the  average  wage  of  a  teacher  is  not  more 
than  1 5s.  a  year  and  a  garden  on  which  to 
grow  his  food,  and  ordained  natives  rarely 


io6   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


get  more  than  £2  a  year.  Yet  chiefs  have, 
in  numerous  instances,  given  up  their  chief- 
tainships, or  left  them  in  the  hands  of  a 
steward,  and  gone  off  themselves  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  The  teacher  shown  in  our 
illustration  is  one  of  these.  His  name  is 
Lugunba,  and  his  chieftainship  is  close  to 
the  ferry  from  Uganda  to  Usoga,  where  all 
the  early  travellers  crossed  into  Uganda. 

One  instance  will  show  what  these  teachers 
are  willing  to  undergo.  Some  have  been 
sent  in  the  past  to  Nasa,  at  the  south  of  the 
lake,  and  one  of  these,  returning  in  a  canoe 
to  Uganda,  was  asked  what  kind  of  a  journey 
he  had  had.  The  journey  occupies,  by  canoe, 
from  fourteen  to  twenty  days,  according  to 
the  weather. 

He  replied,  '  Oh !  pretty  good,  though 
one  day  we  did  have  rather  a  bad  time. 
A  great  storm  came  on,  and  the  canoe  cap- 
sized. I  was  thrown  into  the  water  along 
with  all  the  crew,  and  I  sank  twice  ;  but  just 


LUGUMBA,   A  CHIEF  WHO  RELINQUISHED  HIS  POSITION  TO  R  ECO  ME 
A  TEACHER. 


CHURCHES  AND  TEACHERS  107 

as  I  was  sinking  a  third  time  I  caught  hold 
of  a  bale  of  cloth  which  was  floating  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  I  held  on  to  that. 
The  paddlers  all  clung  to  the  overturned 
canoe  until  the  storm  abated,  and  then  they 
righted  it,  and  we  all  got  in  again.' 

'  Well,'  said  his  interrogator,  '  how  about 
your  clothes  and  books  ? ' 

'  Oh  ! '  he  replied,  '  I  lost  them  all.  I  have 
got  nothing  now  but  what  you  see  me  in.'  He 
did  not  ask  for  compensation.  It  had  not 
occurred  to  him  that  he  could  get  it  if  he 
did.  Travelling  in  Africa  is  always  liable  to 
be  accompanied  with  danger  and  loss,  and 
natives  think  little  or  nothing  of  it. 

On  another  occasion,  a  teacher  trained 
as  a  schoolmaster  for  two  years  had  pro- 
gressed well  with  English,  reading,  writing, 
and  arithmetic,  and  was  known  to  be  a 
thoroughly  upright  and  reliable  Christian. 
A  Government  officer  offered  him  a  clerkship 
in  his  office  at  a  salary  of  ^24  a  year,  with 


io8   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


an  advance  very  shortly  to  a  much  higher 
sum. 

The  youth  replied,  1  I  would  very  much 
like  to  be  a  clerk,  sir ;  but  I  have  been 
trained  as  a  teacher,  and  I  prefer  to  be  a 
Christian  teacher  to  being  a  clerk.' 

He  knew  that  he  would  never  get  more 
than  20s.  a  year  for  a  very  long  time  to  come 
as  a  teacher,  and  probably  less  than  that  ; 
he  was  at  the  time  looking  forward  to  being 
married  in  the  near  future.  This  will  show 
that  the  Baganda  are  not  afraid  of  exercising 
a  little  self-denial  for  their  Saviour's  sake. 

The  natives  are  scarcely  what  could  be 
called  eloquent  preachers,  though  they  are 
very  versatile.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
repetition  in  their  addresses,  and  they  need 
much  training  before  they  preach  really 
useful  sermons ;  but  this  remark  does  not 
apply  to  everybody.  There  are  many  in- 
dividuals who  can  be  termed  good  preachers. 
It  is  not  in  the  country  districts  thought  at 


CHURCHES  AND  TEACHERS  109 


all  improper  to  preach  long  sermons.  On 
one  of  the  islands  a  native  preached  so  long 
that,  looking  out  of  the  window  when  he  had 
finished,  and  seeing  the  position  of  the  sun, 
he  said,  '  My  friends,  the  time  has  passed 
away  quickly,  and  the  day  is  advanced.  It 
is  almost  time  for  the  afternoon  service. 
Is  it  not  well  that  we  go  on  with  that,  whilst 
we  are  here  ? '  This  all  the  congregation 
agreed  to. 

Another  man  had  a  habit  at  the  afternoon 
service  of  looking  out  of  the  window  to 
see  the  position  of  the  sun,  and  rarely 
thought  of  stopping  until  the  sun  was  setting. 
But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  the 
Baganda  are  fond  of  long  sermons.  Certainly 
they  are  not  in  the  capital. 

In  many  country  churches,  where  the 
worshippers  live  several  miles  distant,  the 
majority  of  them,  after  morning  service, 
simply  sit  in  a  little  house  erected  near  the 
church  and  wait  for  ^the  afternoon  service, 


no   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


sometimes  eating  a  little  food  they  have 
brought  with  them,  but  more  often  fasting 
until  they  reach  home  in  the  evening.  Many 
chiefs  have  a  '  mwima '  (cowman)  come  to 
church  at  mid-day  with  a  jar  or  calabash 
of  milk,  which  sustains  them  until  after  the 
afternoon  service. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SOME  RESULTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Now  I  will  try  to  show,  with  the  help 
of  a  few  pictures,  the  difference 
Christianity  has  made  to  the  people.  Books 
written  by  others  have  told  of  what  the 
European  Administration  has  done  and  is 
doing ;  and  I  desire  to  give  the  British 
Government  Officials  full  credit  for  the  vast 
number  of  improvements  they  have  intro- 
duced, or  helped  the  chiefs  and  missionaries 
to  introduce,  into  the  country.  No  doubt  the 
imposition  of  the  hut  tax  and  the  gun  tax  has 
made  the  people  work  to  a  limited  extent ;  but 
the  fact  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  native 
Governments  have  always  imposed  a  hut  or 


ii2   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


poll  tax  on  the  people,  and  the  values  of  this 
and  the  one  imposed  by  the  Administration 
are  not  very  widely  different. 

It  does  always  strike  people  very  forcibly 
that,  whilst  coming  from  within  ten  miles 
of  Mombasa  at  the  coast,  right  up  to  Uganda, 
the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
are  savages  in  appearance  and  in  most  of 
their  habits  ;  yet,  when  one  comes  to  Uganda, 
the  people  are  found  to  be  clothed  and  in 
their  right  minds.  When  Sir  H.  M.  Stanley 
saw  the  photographs  of  the  two  Christian 
boys  here  presented,  he  exclaimed,  1  Do  you 
know,  this  is  exactly  what  I  have  always 
noticed  throughout  Africa.  The  Christian 
natives  have  not  the  hunted,  fearful  expression 
of  countenance  that  the  heathen  have.  The 
Christians  have  a  brighter,  more  intelligent, 
and  more  solid  expression.'  These  boys 
have  been  brought  up  as  Christians  for 
several  years,  though  the  one  at  the  right 
hand,  as  a  child,  was  carried   away  from 


BARK  CLOTH  :  T.  STRIPPING  OFF  THE  HARK. 
2.   KEATING  IT  OFT. 


SOME  RESULTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  113 


Unyoro  and  sold  as  a  slave  in  Uganda.  It 
is  always  a  joy  to  feel  that  one  has  been 
privileged  to  have  the  bringing  up  of  such 
lads,  and  to  think  of  what  their  future  might 
have  been,  but  for  the  influence  of  Christ  in 
their  lives.  Certainly,  they  well  repay  the 
teaching  expended  on  them. 

In  the  faces  of  our  Christian  women, 
too,  may  be  seen  a  difference,  and  the 
illustration  will  show  that  even  at  the  very 
earliest  age  their  children  are  taught  to 
go  to  God's  House,  for  this  picture  was 
taken  just  outside  a  church.  The  kindly 
disposition  of  the  lads  could  be  instanced 
in  many  ways,  but  one  will  serve  to  show 
that  they  would  set  an  example  to  English 
children  in  some  things.  One  of  them  served 
a  master  who  owned  a  dog.  When  the 
dog  was  taken  with  distemper  and  lying 
near  to  death,  the  lad  sat  beside  it  and 
moistened  its  mouth  with  water  every  few 
minutes  until  it  died.     It  is  a  rare  thing 


ii4   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

to  see  a  Christian  lad  in  Uganda  ill-treat  a 
dumb  animal. 

Then,  Christianity  has  made  an  enormous 
difference  in  the  dress  of  the  people.  Sir 
H.  M.  Stanley,  on  his  first  visit,  noticed 
the  people  better  clothed  than  their  neigh- 
bours.    Their  clothing  was,  for  the  most 
part,  the  bark  of  a  tree,  just  as  is  worn 
by  the  man  in  the  illustration,  which  shows 
him  stripping  off  the  bark  of  a  common 
wild  fig  tree,  full  of  rubber  sap,  for  the 
purpose   of  making   one  of  these  cloths. 
When  stripped  off,  the  bark  is  taken  into 
a  hut,  laid  on  a  log  of  wood  let  into  the 
ground  for  solidity,  and  then  is  hammered  out 
with  a  ribbed  wooden  mallet,  which  spreads 
it  until  it  becomes,  almost  like  cloth,  though 
more  like  leather  in  texture.    This  was  the 
national  dress,   varied  by  sheep  and  goat 
skins,  which  the  natives  are  very  clever  at 
tanning.    But  these  dresses  will  not  wash, 
and  Christians  consider  that  they  should  dress 


SOME  RESULTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  115 

in  a  more  cleanly  style.  The  picture  of 
the  wedding  group  shows  the  difference, 
and  what  they  prefer.  The  cloths  are  mostly 
calico,  the  cheaper  kind  imported  from 
America  and  India;  the  better  kind,  some  from 
America,  some  from  England.  The  picture 
shows  a  great  deal  more  than  an  improve- 
ment in  dress.  The  women,  having  been 
treated  as  slaves,  were  never,  until  recently, 
even  on  their  wedding  day,  allowed  to  walk 
home  with  their  husbands.  The  bride  and 
her  maids  usually  passed  out  of  one  door, 
and  the  bridegroom,  with  his  followers, 
usually  passed  out  of  the  opposite  door  of 
the  church,  each  going  to  their  respective 
homes.  The  bride  was  taken  to  the  husband 
in  the  evening,  after  having  been  plentifully 
smeared  with  butter.  Then  for  the  next 
few  weeks  she  spent  her  time  in  weeping, 
or  pretending  to  weep,  and  receiving  the 
condolences  of  her  friends  that  she  had 
become  the  slave  of  a  man,  notwithstanding 


n6   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

the  fact  that  in  many  instances  the  bride 
had  made  great  efforts  to  secure  the  husband. 
That  sort  of  thing  is  dying  out  under  the 
influence  of  Christianity.  The  bride  is 
allowed  to  take  her  husband  s  arm,  and  to- 
gether they  go  to  one  home  and  one  marriage 
feast,  and  receive  the  congratulations  of 
their  friends. 

Many  chiefs  now  allow  their  wives  to 
live  in  the  same  house  as  themselves,  though 
the  custom  of  the  country  is,  that  the  wife 
of  a  chief  shall  occupy  a  separate  house. 
She  may  never  feed  with  her  lord,  though 
she  may  sit  behind  him  and  replenish  his 
cup  with  beer  when  it  is  empty ;  but  she 
may  not  call  on  him,  except  at  certain  times, 
and  then  she  kneels  down  before  him  and 
asks  him  how  he  is  and  if  he  slept  well — 
the  customary  salutation  of  the  country. 
The  chief  whose  photo  is  shown  here  re- 
gards his  wife  not  as  his  slave,  but  as  his 
wife,  and  to  all  appearances  thinks  as  much 


HE  REV.   AND  MRS.   Z.   KIZ1TO,   A  CHRISTIAN  CHIEF  AND  HIS 
WIFE. 


SOME  RESULTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  117 

of  her  as  many  Christian  Englishmen  think 
of  their  wives.  She  sits  at  table  with  him 
for  meals,  and  together  they  eat  with  knives 
and  forks  and  European  table  utensils 
generally.  This  is  the  result  of  Christianity. 
Polygamy  was,  and  is,  common  amongst  the 
heathen  and  Mohammedans.  A  Christian  is 
married  in  church  to  one  wife.  Undoubtedly 
it  is  a  very  hard  matter  for  a  man  who 
has  had  half  a  dozen  wives  to  give  them  all 
up  but  one  when  he  is  baptized  ;  but  it  is  a 
remarkable  and  wonderful  testimony  to  the 
power  of  Christ's  Gospel  that  such  men 
receive  strength  to  do  this  ;  and  that  strength 
is  made  perfect  in  weakness  has  been  often 
borne  out  during  the  progress  of  the  Gospel 
in  Uganda.  Unmarried  men  are  not  looked 
on  with  much  respect  in  Uganda,  and  one 
boy  quite  decided  that  St.  Paul  must  have 
been  a  married  man,  for,  he  said,  1  Other- 
wise he  could  never  have  obtained  a  seat 
on  any  council  of  the    Jews.     At  least,' 


n8   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

said  the  boy,  '  that  is  so  in  our  country. 
A  bachelor  is  never  listened  to,  in  fact,  he 
is  scarcely  known,  and  could  not,  in  any 
case,  get  a  chieftainship,  or  occupy  any 
position  of  influence  in  the  country.' 

Christianity  has  also  made  the  people 
work,  because  they  feel  that  they  must 
have  better  clothing,  better  houses  to  live 
in,  some  furniture,  and  a  greater  variety  of 
food,  and  these  things  act  as  an  incentive 
in  making  them  work.  Many  of  them  are 
learning  to  be  bricklayers  and  brickmakers, 
and  numbers  have  been  taught  by  the 
industrial  missionaries  in  building  the 
new  cathedral  in  Mengo  and  in  building 
houses.  The  Industrial  Mission  has  also 
instructed  a  number  of  carpenters  and 
joiners  ;  some  blacksmithing  has  been  taught  ; 
and  printers,  who  are  now  working  in  the 
Government  printing  office  at  Entebe,  have 
learned  their  trade  in  the  same  way.  The 
boys  learn    composing  and   making-up  in 


SOME  RESULTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  119 

printing  very  quickly,  and  a  great  deal  of 
printing,  including  that  of  the  books  required 
in  the  Mission,  is  done  at  the  Industrial 
Mission.  There  is  also  a  monthly  paper, 
called  Uganda  Notes,  printed  in  English, 
though  the  boys  do  not  know  much  of  that 
language.  Then,  again,  numbers  of  men  are 
engaged  in  trade,  selling  cloth,  and  trading 
in  various  kinds  of  native  products — baskets, 
skins,  mats,  growing  fruit  for  sale,  collecting 
eggs  and  fowls  in  the  country  and  selling 
them  in  the  towns,  making  harps  and  walk- 
ing-sticks, a  few  of  them  weaving  a  common 
cotton,  many  of  them  growing  cotton,  collect- 
ing rubber,  coffee  beans,  and  in  many  ways 
trying  to  earn  a  respectable  living.  For 
many  years  there  have  been  numbers  of 
native  blacksmiths.  Iron  is  found  in  large 
quantities  in  the  country,  and  the  natives 
are  very  clever  at  smelting.  As  it  is  so  often 
heated  in  charcoal,  during  the  process  it 
becomes  carbonised,  and  of  the  nature  of  a 


i2o   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


soft  steel.  This  the  natives  make  into 
knives  and  what  they  call  razors,  the  anvil 
being  a  stone,  and  the  hammer  a  long  piece 
of  iron,  the  bellows  very  crude — just  native 
pots,  with  pieces  of  goat  skin  and  a  stick 
to  blow  with  attached  to  the  top — the  blast 
produced  being  very  weak.  These  men 
are  improving  themselves  in  many  ways, 
and  getting  taught  by  various  Europeans 
in  the  country,  and  many  men  who  knew 
a  little  of  carpentering  are  taking  lessons 
and  endeavouring  to  extend  that  branch  of 
their  business.  Many  are  engaged  in  making 
soap  from  the  fat  of  animals  killed  in  the 
market,  mixed  with  a  liquid  which  is 
obtained  by  burning  plantain  peelings,  and 
straining  the  dust  through  a  grass  sieve. 
Many,  again,  make  banana  beer  for  sale  in 
the  markets ;  but  the  intoxicating  kind  is 
forbidden  to  be  sold  by  the  Native  Council, 
and  the  European  Administration  has  done 
its  best  to  help  the  Council  in  this  decision. 


THE  REV.   BARTOLOM AYO  MUSOKE,    WITH  HIS  WIFE  AND  FAMILY. 


SOME  RESULTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  121 


For  some  time  now,  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
drink  has  been  entirely  prohibited  in  all 
markets  directly  under  the  control  of  the 
Native  Government.  Under  the  Brussels 
Act,  any  trader  found  guilty  of  selling  spirit 
or  intoxicating  drink  to  a  native  is  liable 
to  a  heavy  fine.  It  would  not  be  at  all 
a  bad  thing  if  the  same  rule  were  enforced 
with  regard  to  Europeans  and  Indians. 
The  Baganda  have  realised  what  an  evil 
strong  drink  is  to  the  country,  and  have 
tried  to  curtail  the  sale,  though  they  cannot 
hope  to  stop  its  use. 


CHAPTER  IX 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE 

fter  a  journey  home  on  furlough,  I 


/  V  reached  Mombasa  again  at  10  a.m.  on 
August  19,  1903.  We  were  all  soon  on 
shore  with  our  baggage. 

The  first  train  for  Uganda,  we  found, 
was  to  leave  on  Saturday ;  this  was 
Wednesday.  What  a  difference  from  the 
old  style,  the  waiting  from  a  fortnight  to 
two  months  to  arrange  for  porters,  servants, 
donkeys,  and  camp  outfit !  Now  we  had 
merely  a  visit  to  a  store  to  get  a  basket 
of  provisions  for  a  few  days,  a  little  methy- 
lated spirit  to  boil  water  on  the  train.  All 
the  rest  of  the  time  could  be  devoted  to 
sight-seeing. 


122 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  123 


And,  nowadays,  there  is  a  good  deal 
to  see  in  Mombasa  and  Frere  Town,  as 
compared  with  a  few  years  ago.  Things 
are  going  ahead.  There  are  good  hotels, 
small  public  gardens,  and  a  cathedral  in 
memory  of  Bishops  Hannington  and  Parker. 
The  harbour  presents  a  busy  scene,  and 
the  railway  harbour  at  the  south  side  of 
Mombasa  always  provides  something  inter- 
esting. The  Arab,  Persian,  and  Indian  stores 
well  repay  a  visit,  more  especially  if  you 
have  an  unlimited  supply  of  rupees  to 
spare. 

Missionarv  work  at  Mombasa  is  hard 
and  difficult,  with  the  cosmopolitan  popu- 
lation, chiefly  professing  Mohammedans  and 
the  descendants  of  the  freed  slaves  landed 
there  until  recent  years ;  but  progress  is 
being  made,  and  developments  in  industrial 
and  educational  work  now  in  progress  will 
greatly  help  the  other  departments  of  the 
Mission.     What  the  difficulties  are,  none 


i24   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


but  missionaries  can  possibly  know,  and 
much  patient  plodding  yields  but  little  visible 
result.  Further  inland  the  seed  produces 
far  better  crops,  just  as  with  the  natural 
soil,  so  with  the  spiritual,  and  great  harvests 
are  being  gathered  in  in  some  of  the  East 
African  mission  stations. 

Saturday  noon  arrived,  and  we  made  our 
way  to  the  tiny  railway  station,  our  luggage 
having  gone  there  ahead  of  us.  We  had 
a  strange  collection — a  medicine  chest, 
camera,  bags  of  personal  necessaries,  and 
baskets  of  tinned  provisions,  bread,  milk, 
bottles  of  water,  saucepans,  kettles,  spirit 
lamp,  and  table  furniture — for  we  did  not 
know  at  all  how  long  the  journey  might 
take.  We  knew  the  train  was  advertised 
to  do  the  journey  of  584  miles  by  the 
following  Tuesday  morning  ;  but  that  was 
not  to  say  we  should  do  it.  Of  course  we 
had  a  good  supply  of  pillows  and  rugs, 
as  our  nights  must  be  spent  on  the  train. 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  125 

There  are  three  passenger  trains  a  week 
for  a  part  of  the  distance,  but  only  one  doing 
the  whole  length.  Ours  was  a  specially- 
heavy  one,  as  we  had  quite  twenty-five 
European  passengers,  besides  two  carriages 
of  natives  and  Indians.  In  all,  including 
the  registered  luggage,  which  filled  two 
vans,  we  had  ten  vans  and  carriages,  quite 
as  much  as  the  engine  could  draw,  seeing 
that  in  the  first  350  miles  we  ascend  over 
6,000  feet. 

We  had  some  illustrious  passengers  on 
the  train.  The  wife  of  the  late  Mwanga, 
ex-king  of  Uganda,  was  returning  from  the 
Seychelles,  together  with  her  infant  child 
and  attendants.  Hearing  we  were  for 
Uganda,  and  knowing  our  names,  she  asked 
if  we  would  take  her  in  our  care. 

The  chief  transport  officer  gave  us  money 
for  her,  in  the  event  of  her  needing  more 
than  she  already  had,  and  we  looked  after 
her  right  up  to  Kisumu. 


i26   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


The  first  half  of  the  journey  we  accom- 
plished in  fine  style  on  the  permanent 
ballasted  way  ;  and  the  328  miles  to  Nairobi 
was  over  in  twenty-four  hours,  travelling 
by  night  and  day. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  a  stop  for 
dinner  on  Saturday  night,  for  breakfast  next 
morning,  and  lunch  at  Nairobi.  We  agreed 
to  take  meals  at  these  stopping-places  at 
2s.  8d.  per  head.  Such  a  large  party  of 
Europeans  being  a  rarity,  the  dak  bungalows 
were  overwhelmed.  We  had  to  wait  so  long 
between  the  courses  that  we  had  time  to 
get  up  an  appetite  between  each.  Many 
and  various  were  the  comments  in  English, 
French,  Italian,  and  other  languages  as  to 
the  incompetency  of  the  flurried  native 
waiters  and  the  more  harassed  Goa  who 
superintended  the  work.  Two  meals  of 
this  nature  satisfied  most  of  us,  and  we 
afterwards  provided  our  own  food  on  the 
train. 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  127 


Up  to  this  point  the  scenery  is  very  in- 
teresting, but  the  most  noticeable  feature 
is  the  vast  quantities  of  game — antelope, 
zebra,  buffalo,  wildebeeste,  ostrich,  rhinos, 
and  jackals.  Lions,  though  not  visible, 
abound.  This  part  of  the  Protectorate  of 
East  Africa  being  a  game  preserve,  the 
animals  are  as  tame  as  cattle  in  England, 
and  stand  within  ten  or  twenty  yards  of  the 
train,  the  driver  having  to  constantly  whistle 
them  off  the  track. 

After  Nairobi  we  made  slower  progress. 
For  several  miles  the  gradient  was  so  steep 
that  natives,  decked  in  red  earth  and  butter, 
goat-skins  and  iron  ornaments,  easily  ran 
behind  the  train  and  caught  it  up,  hanging 
on  to  the  guard's  van,  just  as  boys  do  on  four- 
wheelers  at  home.  This  part  of  the  world 
advances  but  slowly,  though  Nairobi  itself 
has  a  big  European  population,  with  highly 
respectable  houses  and  stores. 

A  mission  has  been  commenced  at  Kikuyu, 

10 


i28   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


some  340  miles  from  Mombasa,  and  has 
made  very  good  progress.  It  has,  however, 
a  very  uphill  work  in  hand  with  Masai 
and  Wakikuyu,  who,  though  very  intelligent, 
are  yet  very  low  down  in  the  scale  of 
humanity.  They  never  wash,  I  believe, 
merely  smearing  on  more  fat  and  earth 
when  the  shine  wears  off,  much  the  same  as 
one  varnishes  a  stove  grate. 

A  few  miles  more  brings  us  to  the  Kikuyu 
Escarpment,  a  quick  drop  of  500  feet,  and 
then  comes  a  welcome  change.  We  are 
in  Lakeland,  and  pass  in  succession  Nai- 
vasha,  Elmenteita,  and  Nakuru  within  a 
few  hours,  and  each  quite  of  a  different 
character. 

Here,  again,  game  abounds,  but  not  so 
near  the  railway.  The  Masai  herds  of  cattle 
occupy  their  place  on  the  vast  plains. 

Then  comes  the  Mau.  If  one  can  imagine 
a  combination  of  Chatsworth,  Matlock,  and 
Staines,  with  magnificent  forest  scenery  ad 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  129 


lib.,  some  idea  may  be  gained  of  the  Mau 
range  of  mountains. 

I  wish  I  could  think  living  there  on  the 
equator  would  be  as  healthy  as  at  the  places 
mentioned ;  but  I  believe  it  will  be  found 
far  otherwise.  Central  Africa  is  not  well 
suited  to  Europeans,  unless  they  can  have 
constant  trips  home. 

As  we  rumble  over  very  frail-looking  iron 
bridges,  one  can  readily  see  what  a  wonder- 
ful piece  of  engineering  the  railway  has  been, 
and  how  great  were  the  difficulties  to  be 
overcome. 

The  latter  part  of  the  journey  we  travelled 
but  slowly.  Mau  summit,  the  highest  point 
on  the  line,  we  reached  at  11  on  Monday 
morning.  This  is  8,320  feet,  and  496 
miles  on  our  way.  We  took  till  9.30  on 
Tuesday  morning  to  make  the  remainder 
of  the  584  miles  to  Port  Florence  (Kisumu, 
or  Ugowe  Bay,  as  the  place  is  often  called). 
On  Sunday  and  Monday  nights  we  could  not 


i3o   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


travel,  as  the  line  was  not  considered  safe. 
This  does  not  mean  unsafe  because  of 
natives,  although  it  is  in  the  Nandi  country, 
where  there  had  recently  been  a  rising, 
though  not  a  serious  one. 

A  curious  and  interesting  sight  was  pro- 
vided at  each  station  by  the  Masai  warriors 
enrolled  as  scouts  and  guards.  Some  had 
overcoats  and  rifles,  but  others  merely  their 
spears,  shields,  and  swords,  and  no  clothing 
whatever.  To  see  their  long  spears  de- 
corated with  a  tiny  Union  Jack  was  certainly 
novel.  We  were  greatly  amused  when  they 
told  us  they  were  engaged  to  '  piga  the 
washenzi  '  ('piga'  means  to  fight,  and 
'  washenzi  '  means  savage  or  uncivilised 
natives,  a  term  of  reproach.  The  Masai 
themselves  certainly  deserve  that  title,  if  any 
tribe  or  nation  does).  At  one  station  a 
quarrel  between  Wanandi  and  Masai  had 
arisen,  and  four  of  the  former  had  been 
killed  just  before  our  train  arrived. 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  131 


It  was  interesting  to  see  the  number  of 
Wakamba  and  Wakikuyu  employed  on  the 
railway  on  the  higher  lands  far  away  from 
their  homes.  It  is  not  at  all  easy  to 
get  these  natives  to  work  regularly, 
and  still  more  difficult  to  get  them  to 
leave  their  homes  to  go  to  an  unknown 
country. 

Port  Florence  is  situated  at  the  head  of 
a  long  narrow  arm  of  the  Lake  Victoria 
('  nyanza '  and  lake  mean  the  same  thing), 
which  should  be  called  Kavirondo  Bay, 
but  has  by  many  people  been  wrongly  styled 
Ugowe  Bay. 

The  great  desire  of  travellers  is  to  escape 
spending  a  night  at  Kisumu.  If  this  should 
be  unavoidable,  the  night  is  generally  passed 
in  the  railway  carriage  ;  though  there  is  a 
dak  bungalow  near  the  station,  a  very  small 
place,  with  very  limited  accommodation. 
Mosquitos  enjoy  nights  better  than  travellers, 
who  get  very  little  sleep. 


i32   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

The  regulations  state  that  1  Passengers 
should  fully  understand  that  they  must  allow 
others  to  occupy  the  same  room  as  them- 
selves, according  to  the  number  of  beds 
in  it.' 

1  Passengers  availing  themselves  of  the 
retiring-rooms  must  make  arrangements 
for  attendance  by  their  own  servants,  and 
also  provide  their  own  bedding.' 

1  All  complaints  should  be  entered  in  the 
Complaint  Book  kept  for  the  purpose.' 

At  Port  Florence  a  long  jetty  has  been 
built,  so  that  the  trains  can  run  out  right 
alongside  the  railway  steamer  '  Winifred,' 
the  largest  boat  so  far  launched  on  the 
lake. 

What  a  relief  to  be  able  to  step  out  of 
the  train  on  to  a  commodious  steamer  175 
feet  long,  of  250  tons  register,  and  500 
horse-power  ! 

Leaving  Port  Florence  at  2  p.m.  on  the 
Tuesday,  and  anchoring  overnight  just  at 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  133 


the  entrance  to  Kavirondo  Bay,  we  steamed 
off  at  daybreak,  and  by  5  p.m.  on  Wednesday 
reached  Entebe,  the  landing-place  of  Uganda, 
after  fifteen  hours'  steaming. 

Steamers  as  large  as  the  1  Winifred  '  go 
out  farther  to  sea,  and  so  miss  the  varied  and 
charming  scenery  afforded  by  the  islands 
which  thickly  stud  the  north  of  the  lake. 
The  deeper  draught  necessitates  sailing  in 
mid-channel,  even  when  passing  between 
islands,  and  much  of  the  beauty  is  thus  lost. 
The  trip  across  the  lake  will  probably  dis- 
appoint many  who  have  heard  such  glowing 
descriptions  of  it  from  other  travellers.  Seen 
from  a  near  point  of  vantage  in  a  dhow  or 
canoe,  which  usually  keep  as  near  land  as 
possible,  the  islands  present  an  altogether 
different  appearance  ;  they  are  not  very  hilly, 
and  the  '  Winifred  '  is  a  little  too  far  away 
to  enable  one  to  fully  appreciate  them.  I 
need  not  pause  to  describe  them,  except  to 
say  that   they  vary  from  bare  rocks  and 


i34   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

shingle-covered  banks  to  grass-covered  hills 
and  tropical  forests,  no  two  being  alike. 

Entebe,  where  we  landed,  is  a  long  neck 
of  land  running  out  into  the  lake,  and  has 
a  decidedly  pretty  appearance  as  we  approach 
from  the  lake. 

The  facilities  for  landing  are  a  variable 
quantity,  and  we  were  delayed  considerably 
in  getting  ashore,  as  the  sometimes  available 
steam-launch  could  not  be  used,  the  engineer 
having  been  sent  elsewhere  at  the  moment. 

There  is  a  jetty  up  to  which  smaller  boats 
may  come,  but  the  draught  of  the  '  Wini- 
fred '  is  too  deep  to  allow  of  her  doing  so, 
even  though  she  draws  only  six  feet.  So 
we  landed  in  small  parties  in  one  of  the 
ship's  boats,  and  our  baggage  followed  in  the 
other.  As  we  did  not  cast  anchor  till  after 
5  p.m.,  and  it  is  always  dark  here  at  6.30, 
the  sun  going  down  at  six  all  the  year 
round,  it  was  almost  dark  by  the  time  we 
got  ashore. 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  135 

We  found  three  C.M.S.  men  down  at  the 
jetty  to  meet  us,  together  with  some  other 
European  friends,  and  a  number  of  our 
favourite  boys  who  had  come  down  from 
Mengo  to  welcome  us  back.  They  were 
pleased  to  see  us,  just  as  much  so  as  their 
letters  had  given  us  to  expect,  and  gave  a 
hearty  welcome  to  my  wife  too,  who  was 
much  interested  in  seeing  what  her  native 
friends  were  like. 

We  were  up  betimes  next  morning,  anxious 
to  complete  our  journey  and  reach  a  place 
we  could  call  home. 

To  Mengo  by  the  cart  road  is  only  twenty- 
two  miles ;  yet  it  was  perhaps  the  most 
tedious  part  of  the  journey,  considering  the 
distance.  From  Port  Florence  we  had  wired 
for  two  cycles  and  an  animal,  not  knowing 
that  natives  are  so  civilised  now  that  several 
of  them  have  rickshas  they  would  have  lent 
us.  The  result  was  the  arrival  of  a  mule, 
with  a  note  stating  that  if  trotted  it  would 


136   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 


fall  down,  as  it  was  weak-kneed.  The  next 
result  was  that,  of  course,  the  cycles  had  to 
wait  for  the  mule,  so  that  instead  of  getting 
to  Mengo  before  noon,  it  was  3  p.m.  before 
we  reached  there. 

We  had  receptions  all  along  the  route. 
At  10  a.m.  we  sat  down  on  the  roadside  and 
made  tea.  At  1 2  noon  we  came  across  boys 
making  tea  at  the  roadside,  sent  by  the 
ladies  at  Mengo.  At  2  p.m.  we  met  boys 
with  a  table  spread,  and  a  fire  burning — 
again  at  the  roadside — and  tea  all  ready, 
with  milk,  biscuits  (made  in  Germany),  etc., 
and  sent  by  Zakasiya  Kisingire,  the  second 
Regent.  He  had  already  sent  on  a  note, 
with  a  mule  which  could  trot,  for  my 
wife  to  ride,  and  this  had  met  us  eight 
miles  out. 

By  this  time  we  had  been  met  with  notes 
of  welcome  from  the  Katikiro,  Kago,  another 
big  chief,  and  messages  from  several  others. 
Detachments  of  our  teachers  and  friends  had 


UGANDA  ONCE  MORE  137 


joined  our  procession,  until  by  the  time  we 
reached  Mengo  we  were  quite  a  crowd. 
The  Bishop  came  on  his  mule  some  five 
miles  out  to  welcome  us,  and  soon,  as  we 
got  to  the  capital,  the  Regent,  who  had  sent 
the  tea,  came  out,  together  with  Mika  Sema- 
timba  and  several  others,  whom  we  had  to 
hug  in  turn,  heartily  congratulated  us  on  the 
journey.  The  King  too  sent  messengers  to 
salute  us. 

We  went  to  the  ladies'  house,  where  all  the 
Europeans  came  as  soon  as  they  could  get 
from  classes.  A  few  had  already  met  us  on 
the  road,  a  mile  out ;  others  had  been  some 
distance  at  noon,  and  turned  back,  as  we  were 
so  delayed. 

Then  more  tea  and  more  congratulations, 
and  about  five  we  were  able  to  get  away 
and  go  to  our  own  house,  and  I  introduced 
my  wife  to  her  abode. 

It  seemed  scarcely  possible  that  it  was 
only  August   27,  and  we  were   safely  in 


1 38   UGANDA  BY  PEN  AND  CAMERA 

Mengo ;  and  yet  it  was  only  a  month  since 
we  left  London, 

We  thanked  God  most  sincerely  for  such 
a  prosperous  voyage,  and  for  the  improved 
means  of  transport. 


THE  END 


Printed  by  Hazell,  Watson  &  Viney,  Ld.,  London  and  Aylesbury. 


